It's Hard to Heal
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: Post-series. A terrible accident helps Emily heal her relationships with Richard and with Lorelai.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay confession time, I started working on this about eighteen months ago. And now that the revival is coming out soon, I wanted to finish this and finally post it before my ideas are colored by whatever A Year in the Life brings us. I wrote this as one continuous story, so I tried to make chapter breaks that made sense. Please review if you have any praise or questions or comments. I've loved writing this so much, and I hope you like it, too!

 **It's Hard to Heal**

 _Chapter One_

Emily was very busy when Richard left for work that day. She barely listened when he called out to her.

"Emily, I'm off to Yale. I'll be back at three." He waited by the front door for her to respond but no reply came. "Emily?" He put his briefcase down to go find her. He found his wife sitting at the dining room table, focusing intently on her day planner, furiously scribbling notes. "Emily, did you hear me?" he asked, louder this time.

She looked up. "I'm sorry, Richard, what were you saying?"

He frowned. "I'm leaving now."

"That's fine. I'll see you for dinner." She waved him away and returned to her notes.

Richard came to stand behind her and read over her shoulder. "What's all this for?" he asked curiously.

Emily dropped her pen with a loud thump and stood up from the table. "I am _trying_ to plan this year's summer luncheon which you may remember is this single most important members-only DAR event of the year. And every year, something goes wrong. That damned Mitzy Lightfoot has been gunning for my position for three months now, and if this event doesn't go perfectly, she might be able to get enough support to oust me." She paused her rant and caught her husband's eye. He was trying to suppress a grin and his eyes were shining merrily. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing. You're just very cute when you get all worked up like this." Richard leaned in to kiss her, but she evaded him.

"Don't you have a class to teach?"

"The students won't mind waiting a few minutes. This is more important." He leaned in once more.

But this time Emily took a full step back and began shouting, "This is just like you! Why is it that you only seem to make time for us when it's inconvenient for me? I'm very busy, Richard, and I cannot believe that you _still_ , after all these years, don't see any importance in what I do!"

Richard stood there, slightly stunned, but mostly angry. "Emily, you are planning a luncheon for a lot of other stuffy society ladies. I'm sorry if I'm missing how life-changing and vital that is to mankind!"

Now Emily was the one who was stunned. The last time Richard had spoken to her with that kind of harsh cruelty, he had been very upset and quite drunk. Now, he was stone-cold sober, and she couldn't imagine that he was emotionally compromised in any way. This was all coming from him. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. She turned to get her day planner to hide the tears that threatened to fall. "I have to meet with the chef to plan the luncheon, not that it matters. I'll be home for dinner." She rushed past him, grabbing her purse on her way out the door.

Richard stood there for a moment, realizing what he had said. Had he seen tears in her eyes? He felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. He should know better. He _did_ know better. Richard picked up his briefcase and went out to his car. Emily had already sped away. He made a mental note to buy some flowers and possibly some jewelry on his way home. He would apologize at dinner.

Emily took some slow deep breaths to calm herself as she sped down the highway. She needed to be in a stronger mood before she saw Lorelai. Lord knew she needed all of her self-restraint before an afternoon with her daughter. But nothing really helped. By the time she got to The Dragonfly, Emily was still upset. Even so, she put on a bright smile. She would just have to try a little harder to not let Lorelai's judgmental antics get to her.

"Emily, it is lovely to see you again!" Michel walked across the gravel drive to greet her.

"Michel, you're looking well," she greeted, receiving a kiss on each of her cheeks from the Frenchman.

"Thank you so much, Emily. You are looking wonderful as always. Come inside. I'll show you what we were thinking of for the setup of the dining room for your luncheon. Sookie will join us as soon as the lunch rush is over. She wasn't expecting you until two."

Emily glanced at the diamond watch on her wrist, noticing it was barely past one o'clock. "Yes, I'm earlier than I originally intended. I don't mind waiting for Sookie. It was incredibly improper of me to be this early," she apologized politely.

"No, it is not a problem at all. Not for you, Emily," Michel insisted with a smile.

Emily followed him into the inn, expecting to see Lorelai at the front desk. But she wasn't there. Emily tried to tell herself that Lorelai was just busy, but her heart sunk at the more likely reality that her daughter was deliberately avoiding her.

Michel took her to the dining room and began explaining how they would set up the tables and various decorations that Emily had requested for the DAR luncheon. Emily listened intently, reaching into her purse for her planner to take notes. But it wasn't there.

"Oh dear, Michel, I have to go back to my car for a moment to grab my planner."

The phone at the front desk began ringing. "Take your time. If I'm not done when you come back, feel free to go to the kitchen to see Sookie."

Emily nodded and went back out to her car. She sighed. Normally she was much more put together than this. But normally, she didn't have to deal with her daughter avoiding her like the plague and a husband belittling her very existence.

On her way to her car, Emily decided on a whim to visit the horses. She had loved riding as a young woman, but it had been years since she had been on a horse. Nevertheless, she still had a special place in her heart for those noble creatures.

"Hello, Cletus." The big brown horse came closer to the edge of his stall when she came near. She gently stroked his velvety nose and smiled.

Outside, a loud car roared up the driveway. Emily glanced out the barn to see a very old Mustang approaching. All of a sudden, the car backfired, emitting a loud boom. Scared from the noise, Cletus reared up against the door to his stall. Emily stumbled backwards, falling into a bench and onto the ground. Her back hurt for a few seconds but then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

Lorelai came out of her office just as Michel finished checking in Mr. Durst and his young girlfriend, the couple who had just arrived in the loud muscle car. "Hey, is my mom in with Sookie?"

"I assume so. She went out to get her planner. I didn't see her come back in, but she may have gone in the back. Also, I was very busy out here while you were hiding," Michel said with disdain.

Lorelai pouted. "She was early. I needed a little more time to prepare myself."

"You owe me for distracting her outside while you ran away."

"Oh come on, you love my mom."

"Yes, but that is irrelevant. It was a favor to you, and I despise doing favors."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen. She found Sookie hard at work, the rest of the kitchen staff literally putting out fires behind her. "Hey Sook, where's my mom?"

"Uh wasn't she with Michel?" Sookie asked distractedly, stirring two different pots at once.

"No, we thought she was in here. Maybe she's still at her car?" Lorelai wondered aloud.

All of a sudden, Ed, the stablemaster, ran into the kitchen. "Lorelai! Your mother!"

"What about her?" Lorelai asked.

"She's in the barn, unconscious. I don't know what happened, I just walked in and found her lying there!" Ed explained in a panic.

Lorelai immediately bolted outside, Ed and Sookie following close behind. "Is she okay? Is she awake?"

"I think her head was bleeding. I came to find you immediately," Ed replied.

Lorelai felt sick. "Sookie, call an ambulance."

Sookie turned around and went right back inside.

When they reached the barn, Lorelai saw her mother, her strong and unstoppable mother, lying in the dirt and straw. She kneeled down beside her. "Mom?" Emily didn't respond, but Lorelai could see her chest move slightly, indicating that she was breathing. Somewhere in the back of her head, Lorelai remembered something about not moving people who have a head injury. There was a small amount of blood caked in Emily's soft auburn hair. Lorelai didn't know what to do.

Sookie rushed in. "They're five minutes away. They said not to move her in case there's spinal injury. We don't wanna make it worse."

Lorelai nodded and looked back down at her mother. She had very rarely, if ever, wanted her mother to hug her close and tell her everything would be okay, but she wanted that now. She just sat there next to her mother's body, lost and scared and feeling vaguely ill. Tears fell onto Emily's blue sweater. Lorelai hadn't even realized she'd started crying.

The paramedics arrived a minute later, springing into action. Sookie took Lorelai by the arm and helped her up. "Come on, sweetie, let's get out of the way."

Emily was gently placed onto a board, keeping her body still and secure. They carried her into the back of the ambulance. "Which one of you is riding with the patient?" one of the paramedics asked.

Sookie pushed Lorelai towards the ambulance. "You go. Michel and I will hold down the fort here."

Lorelai nodded numbly.

"Do you want me to call your dad?"

"No, I'll do it," Lorelai insisted.

"Okay. Call us when you know something."

"Sure. Thanks, Sookie." Lorelai climbed into the back of the ambulance. "What's wrong with her?" she asked as soon as the vehicle started moving.

A woman about Lorelai's age answered, "Not sure yet. She hit her head on the ground, and that's what knocked her out. But that shouldn't be too severe. There is swelling at her lower back, so she might have a spinal injury. The ER will take X-rays and the doctors will know for sure when we get to Litchfield."

Lorelai took her cellphone out of her pocket and wiped the tears from her face as she dialed.

"Gilmore residence."

"Hi, I need to speak to Mr. Gilmore. It's an emergency," Lorelai told the maid.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gilmore is teaching today."

Lorelai didn't respond. She hung up and dialed her father's cell phone. He answered on the fourth ring. "Lorelai, I'm having office hours right now, can this wait?" Richard said in a low voice. Evidently he was with a student.

"Dad, Mom fell and she's unconscious and I'm in the ambulance with her now. We're going to Litchfield Hospital. Can you meet us there?" Lorelai could hear the hysteria in her own voice, but could do nothing about it.

"I'm leaving now." Richard hung up the phone. He turned to see the young man sitting at the other side of his desk with some surprise. "I'm sorry, Mr. Green. I have to leave now. Family emergency. Read the chapter again, and if you still don't understand, I would suggest choosing a major other than Economics." With that, he rushed out of the office.

Richard drove to the hospital in utter panic. He broke every speed limit he encountered and it was a miracle he didn't get in an accident with the number of red lights he ran. Emily would be furious if she knew he was driving like this. That thought made him nauseous. He couldn't remember a time in their forty-two years together when she had ever been taken to the emergency room. She'd had the flu a few times, and she'd had that problem with her eyes last year, but this was different. He had been with her for all of that. For the most part, anyway. But at least Lorelai was with her. He couldn't imagine why. But it dawned on him that the chef Emily had gone to see must have been Sookie. There was no other explanation for Lorelai being there, taking her to Litchfield Hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Richard arrived at the hospital and practically sprinted inside. "Dad!" Lorelai's voice caught his attention.

"Where is she? What happened?" he asked.

"The doctors took her into surgery. She fractured her spine, so they had to go in and stabilize it so there wouldn't be any damage to the spinal cord," Lorelai explained. She had been fortunate enough to have a few minutes to process that information before her father arrived.

Richard sank onto the sofa in the waiting room that Lorelai had just stood up from. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there when she got to The Dragonfly." Lorelai felt the guilt begin to gnaw at her insides. She swallowed hard and continued, "Our stablemaster found her in the barn. Michel said she had gone to the car to get her planner but didn't come back in. I guess she went to the barn. But I don't know how long she had been out there before Ed found her." Lorelai waited for her father to respond. She was afraid he'd be angry with her, like he always was whenever something she did—or didn't do—negatively impacted her mother. But Richard just stared straight ahead with a blank expression. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said quietly.

That got Richard's attention. "If it's anyone's fault, Lorelai, it's mine."

Lorelai looked at him, the silent question evident in her face.

He sighed and elaborated, "I said some terrible things to her before I left today. Awful things that I had no right to say. She was upset, I'm sure. She probably went to visit your horses to calm her down. She always did love horses."

"I didn't know that," Lorelai replied in surprise.

"Oh yes. She was a rather good rider when we met. But I never did take to horses, so she gave it up. Just one more thing I took from her," Richard commented cynically.

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm sure she doesn't feel that way."

"Well, it's somewhat irrelevant at the moment."

They fell silent. Father and daughter sat next to each other, quietly staring off into space. A phone rang at the nurse's station, bringing Lorelai out of her daze. "I'm going to find coffee. Do you want some, Dad?" she asked, standing up.

"Yes, actually, that would be very nice. Thank you, Lorelai." Richard gave her a small smile as she walked away. He sat back and pulled out his cell phone to call the house.

The maid answered on the second ring. "Gilmore residence."

"Hello…" For the life of him, Richard couldn't recall this one's name. He skipped the pleasantries. "This is Mr. Gilmore. You don't need to worry about dinner. We won't be home tonight. And you may leave whenever you've finished your other duties."

"Yes, Mr. Gilmore. And what time would Mrs. Gilmore like me here tomorrow?" she asked politely.

"I'm not sure. Mrs. Gilmore is in the hospital, and I don't know how long I'll be here."

"I'm so sorry! Is she alright?"

Richard felt his hand begin to shake. "I don't know." He hung up without another word. The maid would figure it out. If not, Emily would fire the girl. He felt ill again.

Lorelai returned a minute later with two cups of almost palatable coffee. Richard took one sip and set it aside with a grimace. Lorelai was a little more desperate so she drank almost half of it before she couldn't take it anymore.

A doctor with a kind smile wearing a surgical cap came out to talk to them. "Mr. Gilmore, Miss Gilmore?"

They both stood. "Yes? How is she? What's happening?" they both asked, talking over one another.

"Mrs. Gilmore is still in surgery. The surgeon is almost finished and she asked me to come give you an update. Mrs. Gilmore fractured two vertebrae near the base of her spine. Dr. White inserted screws to stabilize the bones. There was a worry about spinal cord complications, but we don't think there should be any problem there. There may be some numbness in her legs, but we won't know until she wakes up. You should be able to see her in about two hours."

Richard and Lorelai thanked the doctor and he went back to Emily's surgery. Before they sat back down on the sofa, Richard turned to his daughter. "Lorelai, I hope you'll indulge me in this somewhat peculiar request. May I hug you?"

Lorelai was surprised at his question but she nodded yes. Her tall teddy bear of a father wrapped his big strong arms around her and pulled her close. Lorelai felt a lump form in her throat that she couldn't keep away. She couldn't remember the last time she had hugged her father, and she began to cry.

"Oh Lorelai, it's going to be alright," Richard murmured. He sat down on the sofa with his daughter still in his arms. He gently whispered to her and stroked her hair. Despite the circumstances, or perhaps because of them, he liked holding her like this. After so many years of distance between them, he had his little girl close to him for perhaps the first time in thirty years. All day he had felt guilty about being a bad husband. And now he was reminded of what a bad father he was as well. But as long as Lorelai was in his arms, he had a chance.

Lorelai let herself be comforted by her father's embrace. She thought of all the times Rory had hugged her grandpa, and in all those times, Lorelai never thought much of it. Now she realized how much she had missed out on. Her dad gave very good hugs. "Dad?" Her voice cracked.

He loosened his hold on her, but didn't let go completely. "Yes, Lorelai?"

"I'm glad we're here together. I wouldn't want you to be alone right now. And I'm glad it's just us." Her tears had made her overly sentimental and unnecessarily honest. She hoped he wouldn't mind.

Richard smiled and kissed her forehead. His mustache tickled her face, and she finally understood why her mother had hated it so much.

"I'm glad we're here together, too."

They fell back into silence, leaving Lorelai to her thoughts. As she rested her head on her father's chest, his arm still around her shoulders, she couldn't quite recall why they couldn't be like this always. Lorelai lived for her independence and her parents had always suffocated her. But even without that, why had there never been any kind of physical affection like this? Rory hugged her grandparents when she greeted them. What did Lorelai do? Say 'hi Mom, hi Dad'? Why? Why did they never hug her like they did Rory? For many years, she had convinced herself that she had so deeply wounded them when she left that they had no more love to give her. But that couldn't be true, could it? Ever since Chilton, things had been getting better. And also worse. But mostly in the trend toward better. Lorelai knew that her mother wanted nothing more than to be a part of her life. But for Lorelai, Emily being in her life meant controlling her life, and she couldn't have that. She should have handled things different. They both should have.

She nuzzled closer to her father. This was nice. She liked this. Lorelai had always resented him for taking Emily's side over hers, but wasn't that what parents were supposed to do? Be a united front? Never having had a partner to parent with, that was a foreign concept to Lorelai. As a kid, all it meant was whatever Mom says goes. Whenever things got out of hand, Richard would just shut himself in his study and let Emily deal with it. By the time she left, her relationship with Emily had been a bad one, but her relationship with Richard had been nonexistent. If nothing else, this unfortunate experience had brought her closer with her father, and Lorelai was committed to keeping it that way. And she decided that this wouldn't be the only thing to come out of today's events.

"Dad, why don't I know anything about her?" Lorelai asked.

Richard was not expecting it, but he knew what she was referring to. And he knew exactly what to say. It was the same thing he had told Emily over and over again in recent years whenever things became strained with their daughter. "Because you've treated your mother as an adult the same way you did as a teenager. I'm sure many girls who don't get along with their mothers at sixteen are convinced that they are out to ruin their lives and control them for the sheer sake of being controlling. But most mothers and daughters grow up and learn to relate to each other as adults. They see each other differently, and they learn about one another. You and your mother were robbed of that time. She's tried desperately to make up for it, albeit it in unsuccessful and perhaps incorrect ways. But your relationship with her has been frozen in time since the day you left."

Lorelai was shocked that he had that answer all ready to go. She hadn't expected an answer at all, let alone one like that. She fell silent again. Because she knew he was right. Today, Lorelai had seen her mother drive up and she had hid. Like a child, she hid from her mommy, afraid to get yelled at or forced into something she didn't want. A relationship with her mother would be a two-way street, but perhaps if Lorelai made some changes in herself, her mother would follow. Eventually. Maybe.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

A loud melodic beeping made them Lorelai and Richard jump. It was Lorelai's cellphone. She saw the caller ID and answered it. "Hey kid!" She tried to sound cheerful.

"Mom? Are you okay? You sound weird."

She should have known she couldn't keep anything from Rory. Even two words gave it away. "I'm at the hospital right now, actually."

"What?! Are you okay?" Rory demanded.

"I'm fine. It's not me. Grandma fell in the barn at The Dragonfly and fractured her spine. She's still in surgery, but the doctors said she'll be okay. I'm in the waiting room with Grandpa."

"Oh my god. How's he doing? How are you doing? I'm coming back on the next flight I can get."

"No, don't do that. Do you know how pissed your grandmother will be if she wakes up and you don't have a job anymore? No. I'm okay, Grandpa is doing okay. We'll be fine."

Rory wasn't too convinced. "Are you sure? I won't lose my job if I come back for just a day or so."

"No, Rory. You're not even going to risk that job. I'll update you whenever we know more, okay? Promise you won't come back without permission from me?"

"Okay, fine," Rory sighed. "Can I talk to Grandpa for a minute?"

"Sure." Lorelai handed the phone to Richard. "Rory wants to talk to you."

Richard took the phone to speak to his granddaughter. Lorelai stood up and walked away down a hallway. "Rory, hello." His voice was hoarse from the emotion of the afternoon.

"Grandpa, what happened?"

"We don't exactly know yet. She took a fall of some kind presumably when she was visiting the horses at The Dragonfly. But the doctors are going to fix her up and she'll be back to herself in no time. And your mother's right, Rory. You can't come back and risk your job. Your grandmother wouldn't hear of it."

"Yeah, you're right. I just wish I could be there with you guys."

"I know. And we appreciate that. But it's just as important for you to continue to do your job. How is everything going with Senator Obama?"

"Really well. But we can talk about that another time. Actually, I have to go. I only had a minute, so I just thought I'd check in with Mom. Will you tell her I'll call her back when I have another minute?"

"Of course."

"But if anything changes, call me right away. And let me know when she wakes up."

"We will, Rory. Talk to you soon."

"Bye!"

Richard hung up the cell phone just in time to see Lorelai walk back with a pile of chips and candy in her arms. He looked at her questioningly.

"Vending machine snacks. We should eat something. What's your pick?" she asked, depositing everything on the couch between them.

"I suppose I'll take a chance on this," Richard said, picking up a small blue package.

"Chex Mix. Nice choice." Lorelai took the yellow bag of Famous Amos cookies. "Did Rory have to go?"

"Yes, she said she'd call back when she could."

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that's how it goes nowadays. She calls to check in when she can, but we email a lot."

"She's called us once or twice in the last month. We miss her."

"Me too." Lorelai munched on her cookies and decided that even though she did miss her daughter all the time, she was a little glad she was all the way in Iowa. Because how else could she ever share junk food with her dad?

They made their way through pretzels and salt & vinegar chips and Twix and Peanut M&Ms and a pack of sour gummy worms by the time a nurse came by.

"Mrs. Gilmore is out of recovery and ICU. We've moved her to her room, if you'd like to follow me."

"Is it a private room?" Richard asked.

"Because if not, when she wakes up, that patient in there with her will be wishing for death," Lorelai added.

Richard didn't voice it, but he had to admit that she was right.

"It is a private room, yes," the nurse replied.

"Is there a window?" Lorelai asked, remembering what had happened when her father was in the hospital.

When they reached the room, there was indeed a large window. Looking out over the parking lot. Well, they would deal with that when Emily woke up, Lorelai reasoned.

"The doctor will be in shortly to update you on her condition." The nurse left them alone.

Richard immediately went right up to his wife. He took her hand and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. She looked peaceful, for which he was grateful. He was afraid she'd look pale and sickly. But she looked almost as beautiful as she did when she was sleeping in their bed. The only problem was the setting. She looked better set against higher quality bedding. Relief flooded him. He sat down beside her and gently kissed her hand.

The surgeon came in. "Mr. Gilmore?"

Richard turned to face her but didn't get up. "Yes?"

Lorelai came to shake the doctor's hand. "I'm Lorelai Gilmore, Emily is my mother."

"I'm Dr. White. I performed the surgery. Mrs. Gilmore should recover just fine. Everything went smoothly during the operation. I'd like to keep her here for a week for observation and some minor rehabilitation, but after that, she'll have weekly checkups. I would be surprised if she's fully back to normal in less than six months. Spinal surgery, especially on someone her age, is serious business."

"She's in really good shape, and once she wakes up, you'll see that there is no way it'll take her six months to heal. She won't allow it," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

Richard smiled softly in agreement. "Thank you, Doctor. When do you expect the anesthesia to wear off?"

"It shouldn't be too long now. But she did hit her head, so it might take a bit longer for her to wake up. Sometimes after trauma like that, the brain needs a little while to reboot, so to speak."

Dr. White left them alone once again. Richard went back to holding Emily's hand reverently and staring at her resting form.

Lorelai paced around the room. "Maybe I should go by the house and get some of her things?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Lorelai. I don't want to leave her."

"And you shouldn't," Lorelai agreed. "Can I have your keys? I rode in the ambulance, so my car isn't here."

Richard reached into his pocket and handed her the keys to the Jaguar so she could drive his car to Hartford.

"Can I call you when I get there so you can tell me what to get? I have no idea where she keeps anything."

With a frown, Richard replied, "Neither do I. But maybe she'll be awake by then and she can tell you herself."

Lorelai nodded, figuring she could figure it out herself, and left her parents alone together. A drive would be good for her. A chance to clear her head and get out of that damn hospital. She hated hospitals. Nothing good ever happened in hospitals. But this time, at least she'd gotten to become closer with her father. And Lorelai promised herself that she'd try to do the same with her mother when she woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

While she drove to Hartford, Lorelai made a few calls. The first was to Sookie to update her on Emily's condition. Sookie and Michel had everything taken care of at the inn, and they told her not to worry about anything. Lorelai was grateful, but she was sure she'd feel the need to go in tomorrow at least to check on things.

The next call was to Luke to let him know what had happened.

"Oh my god, is she gonna be okay?" he asked.

"The doctor seemed to think so. She hadn't woken up yet when I left. I'm going to Hartford to get some of her things. And I should probably get some stuff for my dad, right? I can't imagine he's going to want to leave her."

"Yeah, that would probably be good," Luke agreed. "You know, he can stay at my place while she's in the hospital. We're only ten minutes from the Litchfield Hospital, and Hartford is kinda far."

"That would be great, Luke. I don't know if he'd go for it, but we can offer."

"Let me know when you leave Hartford, and I'll come by the hospital with some food."

"Thank you so much," Lorelai said gratefully.

"That's what I'm here for." Luke hung up and started thinking about what he could possibly make that Richard and Emily Gilmore would approve of.

Back at the hospital, Richard was alone with his worries. The doctor said Emily would wake up soon. Well, he had been sitting there for almost an hour and she hadn't stirred. He was starting to become concerned again. What if she didn't wake up? What if she did wake up, but there was something wrong? Richard honestly didn't know what he would do without her. There were probably things that needed to get done. For the life of him, he had no idea what they were. Her responsibilities at the DAR, as nauseating as he found them, were responsibilities nonetheless. There were people there that depended on Emily, he was sure. And their own house! When was the maid supposed to come? What were the cook's hours? He had no idea. So many things about the way their home functioned he had left to her under the naïve belief that she'd always be there to take care of it. To take care of him.

Richard held her hand a little tighter, afraid to let her go. How many times in their years together had he left her alone? When his mother died, he had retreated from Emily in his grief. With all that business with Pennilyn Lott and Jason Styles. When Lorelai had come to them about Rory dropping out of school, he had refused to stand by their side to help Rory. When he'd had his heart attack, he had completely abandoned all of his responsibilities. He had abandoned her. All those times, he had failed her. But she had stayed by his side through all of it. Yes, there had been those few months of their separation, but that had really been the best thing for them both. Hadn't he promised that he would never again leave her like that ever again? And how had he kept that promise? By falling right back into the same patterns. Well, no more. He refused to let this happen to them again. When Emily woke up, he would be sure to be right by her side and love her and care for her the way he should have been doing the last forty-two years. He would never again let her feel as though she weren't loved and appreciated and respected.

The door to Emily's room opened. Luke walked in carrying bags from his diner. "Hi, Richard. Lorelai called me and told me what happened. How's she doing?"

"Not awake yet."

Luke put the food down on a side table. "I brought burgers and fries and coffee and pie. All of Lorelai's favorites. If you want something else, it's no trouble for me to go back to the diner. It's only ten minutes away."

"No, burgers are fine, Luke. Thank you so much. This is very kind of you," Richard said appreciatively. He wasn't hungry at all. His stomach was too nervous. But perhaps a few French fries would be good.

Luke took out the Styrofoam container holding one of his specialty burgers with fresh fries and passed it to Richard. "Oh, by the way, I uh wanted to offer for you to stay at my apartment while Emily is in the hospital. It's above the diner and like I said, it's only ten minutes away. I stay at Lorelai's most of the time anyway, so you'll have the place to yourself, and it's a lot closer than Hartford. If you want to. It's not a problem either way." Luke shuffled in place awkwardly.

Richard was unprepared for the offer. "Oh. That's…that's incredibly generous of you, Luke. I don't quite know what I'm doing. I don't want to make any decisions until Emily wakes up. Can I get back to you?"

"Of course. The offer is open for whenever."

The two men ate in silence. Richard was merely picking at his food. He continued to silently beg and pray for Emily to awaken.

Lorelai arrived a few minutes later. "Okay, so I brought a robe of Mom's that I found, along with a bunch of creams and lotions and makeup things from the bathroom, and I grabbed a pair of your pajamas, Dad, and your shaving kit and medications from your bedside table. And I picked up some tulips. Mom likes tulips, right? Yeah, I'll go ask a nurse for a vase." Lorelai placed the big bag of items from the Gilmore house down in the corner and walked out with the bouquet in her hands.

Luke just stared after her and shrugged. He knew better than to interrupt whatever this was. They'd talk later, but right now, he recognized that she had to do something to feel useful. Even if she was freaking out, she wouldn't break down and cry or anything until she was alone. Little did he know that she'd moved past that phase already and was now desperate to do anything and everything she could.

Lorelai returned a moment later with the yellow tulips in a cheap glass vase that Emily was sure to hate, but it was all the hospital had. She sat down in a chair next to Luke and stole a few of his fries.

"I brought you a burger, you know."

She smiled as he handed her the box he'd brought for her. "Thanks."

"And there's pie for later. And coffee."

"Ooooo coffee coffee coffee!" Lorelai ignored everything else to get her hands on some of Luke's incredible coffee. She took thankful gulps from the to-go cup and smiled. "Thank you. You're my hero."

Richard looked over to his daughter and smiled. She was such a strange girl. She always had been. He couldn't quite believe the time that he had wasted trying to make her the daughter he had expected instead of trying to understand the daughter he had. And even though she might not have realized it, he'd loved her since the moment she had been conceived. And he'd love her until the day he died. Now, hopefully, he could show it the way she deserved.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

There was a slight rustling in the bed. Richard felt Emily's hand shift within his. She let out a small groan as her eyes began to blink open. Richard squeezed her hand and stood up, using his other hand to gently stroke her cheek. "Emily? Sweetheart?"

She groaned once more. "Richard?" Her voice was very hoarse.

Richard felt his heart expand in his chest as tears welled up in his eyes. "Yes, Emily, I'm here. I'm here, my love."

Emily felt like she was wading through a fog. Everything felt heavy and slow and fuzzy. She tried to sit up but she couldn't. "Richard, where are we?" she asked. Things were starting to become clearer. The room was unfamiliar.

"You're in the hospital, Emily. In Litchfield. Try not to move too much. You fell at The Dragonfly, and they had to perform surgery on your spine," he explained.

She tried to remember falling, or even why she had been at The Dragonfly. The Dragonfly. Lorelai. "Is Lorelai coming?" she asked, preparing herself for Richard to tell her that Lorelai was too busy or some other excuse to keep away.

"I'm here, Mom." Lorelai came closer to her mother's bed so she could be seen. She stood beside her father and leaned into him. He put his arm around her, and just like before, she felt safer.

"Lorelai. You're here," Emily said with an air of surprise.

It gave her a pang in her heart to realize that her mother hadn't expected her to be there. And, honestly, it was a fair expectation to have. But that would change, she hoped. "You were in the barn, Mom. I rode with you to the hospital and waited with Dad while you were in surgery. I just got back from your house. I brought you some things, but I can go back for anything else you need while you're here."

Emily frowned. "How long will I be here?"

"The doctor said one week, but the recovery is going to take a while," Richard answered.

She sighed in frustration. "What happened?" Emily was asking herself more than anyone else. She may have just woken up from surgery, but it bothered her that she couldn't remember anything.

Lorelai looked over at Luke and jerked her head toward the door. "Mom, we're going to find a doctor to come talk to you and answer your questions."

"We?"

Luke stepped forward and waved. "Hi, Emily."

Emily nodded weakly. "Hello, Luke."

Lorelai took Luke outside to find a doctor and give her parents some privacy. After the door closed, Richard felt himself fall apart. The tears returned. He pressed kisses to her hands and gently stroked her hair. "I was so worried."

"Richard, I'm fine," she insisted. Though, she had no idea if that were true or not.

"I'm so sorry, Emily. Those things I said to you were completely inexcusable and reprehensible and I regretted every word as soon as they came out of my mouth."

It took Emily a moment to remember what he was talking about. The memory of that morning came flooding back to her. Planning the DAR luncheon. The awful things Richard had said. Going to The Dragonfly. Lorelai hadn't been there. She'd gone to see the horses…and a car backfired. "And then Cletus reared and I fell back into the bench," Emily remembered aloud.

"What was that?"

"I'm sorry, I was just remembering what happened. I was upset about what you said. And rightfully so, Richard, that was an awful thing to say."

"Yes, dear, I'm very sorry."

"I heard you, yes," she interrupted. "We can talk about that later. But I was upset and so I left to go to The Dragonfly earlier than I expected. Lorelai wasn't there. Probably avoiding me. Michel showed me the plans for the decorations, but in my state, I'd forgotten my notes in the car, so I went back to get them. But on the way, I decided to visit Lorelai's horses. And I was petting Cletus when a car outside backfired, and it scared the horse. He reared up and I fell backward into the bench across from his stall. I don't remember anything after that."

Before Richard could respond, Lorelai came back with the doctor. "Hello, Mrs. Gilmore. I'm Dr. White. When the ambulance brought you in, we found two fractures in your vertebrae. I surgically inserted screws into your spine to stabilize the bones and prevent any damage to your spinal cord. You also hit your head when you fell, which is why it took almost three hours for you to wake up after the anesthesia left your system."

"Lorelai, it seems a car backfired in the driveway, causing your horse to rear up, and your mother fell into a bench in the barn," Richard explained to his daughter.

Dr. White nodded. "That would cause the spinal fractures. There shouldn't be any lasting damage, but just to be sure, Mrs. Gilmore, do you mind if I conduct a quick neurological exam?"

"Go right ahead," Emily replied.

The doctor checked Emily's pupil dilation and nerve reactions in her extremities. After receiving a poke to the bottom of her foot, Emily became quite agitated, but she kept it to herself. Lorelai could see that her mother would erupt as soon as the doctor left.

"Everything looks just fine, Mrs. Gilmore. You'll need to stay in bed for the next two to three days to allow the spine to heal enough for us to help you start walking again. And if you can walk without assistance after the week is through, I'll discharge you, provided you return for weekly checkups."

Emily frowned but nodded. Dr. White smiled and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Emily complained, "What on earth was all that for!? Shouldn't they know in the operating room if they'd paralyzed me? That was ridiculous. And she's saying I have to stay here for a week and then come back every week after that? This is preposterous. I fell. Because of that damn horse!"

Richard sat down and patted her arm. "Emily, there's no use getting upset over it. The doctor will discharge you when she feels you're ready. And if that's earlier than expected, wonderful. But if not, you'll just have to be a good little patient and do what the doctor says."

She glared at him but said nothing.

Lorelai stepped forward. "Hey Mom? Luke brought food, if you're hungry."

"Actually, yes, I am a bit hungry."

"We've got burgers and fries and pie."

Emily eyed the box Lorelai held up with disdain.

Luke quickly offered, "I can go back to the diner and get something else. Or I can go to the store. Whatever you want."

His kind gesture made Emily want to smile, but she pressed her lips together stoically. "A burger sounds very good, Luke. I've heard from my daughter and granddaughter that your burgers are the best."

Lorelai's eyes went wide. "Mom, you've never had one of Luke's burgers?"

"No, whenever we've eaten Luke's food, everyone always assumes I want a sandwich or a salad or something."

With a happy glint in her eye, Lorelai brought the box of food over to her mother. "Prepare to have your world changed, lady."

Richard watched his wife with an amused expression. Unlike Luke and Lorelai, he had seen Emily eat a burger before. Many years ago when they were dating and they had once gone into a diner not unlike Luke's. Richard smiled at the memory.

Emily picked up the burger with both hands and bit into it, trying to ignore the way everyone was staring at her. She chewed and swallowed and looked at Luke. "My god, that's delicious!"

Lorelai and Luke glanced at each other in surprise and delight. Richard just smiled and went back to his own burger. The four of them all ate in relative silence.

"There's pie if anyone wants it. I brought apple and cherry," Luke announced.

"Both, please!" Lorelai requested, making grabby hands towards him. He just rolled his eyes and began cutting slices for her.

"I think I'll go for a small slice of cherry, Luke." Richard then turned to Emily. "Would you like some?"

"Apple would be nice. Thank you. But Richard, you know you shouldn't have too many sweets."

He sighed. "I'm fine, Emily."

"Oh really? What have you eaten today?" When Richard avoided eye contact, she instead asked, "Lorelai, you said you waited with your father all day? What did you two eat?"

"Uh...stuff from the vending machine?" she replied, unsure of how to navigate this particular Gilmore minefield.

Emily sighed. "One _small_ slice of pie, Richard. But I swear, you'd better stick to your diet starting tomorrow, because I will not have you joining me in this hospital as a patient."

Richard accepted that rationale and happily ate his pie. Once more, Luke and the Gilmores fell into a comfortable silence. Richard caught Lorelai's eye at one point and they shared an understanding smile. Lorelai couldn't quite believe how well she was getting along with her father. Even more surprising, she actually _liked_ having that connection with him. She wanted to protect it and let it grow. She wanted the relationship with her father that she had never had, something Rory had with him that Lorelai never realized she envied.

A nurse entered the room. "I'm so sorry, but visiting hours are over."

Luke began cleaning up all the food and putting things away. Lorelai gave him minimal help, but helped nonetheless. Richard looked at the nurse, conflict brewing in his face.

Emily spoke the words that Richard's mind had been trying to form. "Already? What time is it?"

"It's after seven," the nurse replied.

"That's ridiculous. What kind of hospital has visiting hours that end so early? Bring your supervisor in here, please. We'll see what kind of rule that is," Emily said, irate at the very idea that this small town hospital would kick her family out at only seven o'clock.

"It's hospital policy, Mrs. Gilmore." The nurse's voice was small. Lorelai did feel bad for her, but it was also fascinating to watch her mother, not four hours after major surgery, lying in a bed and bossing around employees as well as she ever did.

The nurse left to do what Emily had asked. Richard didn't want to leave, but he prepared himself for the reality that he had to go. He gently pushed a lock of Emily's hair behind her ear. A small smile appeared on her face and she leaned into his hand.

Lorelai watched the small exchange and was struck, for not the first time, that her parents, despite their myriad of flaws, were still so in love after so many years. They were comfortable together. And their affection for one another showed in the most unexpected of ways. It never failed to make her simultaneously happy and sad. Seeing two people in love like that was always joyful to see. But seeing it in her parents, Lorelai felt a gaping hole in her heart, because for so long, that love and affection had been withheld from her; she had never really been a part of that unconditional love. Not like that, at least.

A hospital administrator came in wearing a very sharp suit. "Mrs. Gilmore, what can I do for you?" he asked with a sickly sweet smile.

"You can tell me why visiting hours at this hospital end at seven when every single other hospital I've ever heard of allows family members to stay until at least eight."

Her tone clearly threw him off. He sputtered for a moment before saying, "Because you had surgery this afternoon, Mrs. Gilmore, I will allow your family to stay an extra hour. But they must be gone by eight." He left, visibly annoyed by the situation.

Emily smirked triumphantly. Richard was glad. Luke, however, was all packed up and ready to go. He turned to Lorelai and said in a low voice, "Maybe we should…"

Lorelai nodded. She would give her parents some time alone. "We're gonna go now, Mom. But I'll be back in the morning. If there's anything else you need from the house or anything, I'll bring it tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lorelai. And thank you, Luke. It was very kind of you to feed us all," Emily said kindly.

"Not a problem, Emily. I'm glad I could be here."

Richard turned to him. "Luke, I think I will take you up on your offer."

"Okay, great. I'll have everything ready for you. Just come on by the diner."

Richard nodded and thanked him, and Luke and Lorelai left.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

The two elder Gilmores were left alone. "Can we talk now?" he asked, sitting beside her once more.

Emily tried to adjust her position in bed but found that any slight movement just put her in more pain. But she kept it to herself. Richard had worried about her enough for one day. She'd call a nurse for some painkillers when Richard left. She let out a slow breath to mask the pain, then looked at her husband. "Fine. Talk."

Richard didn't like that look on her face, but he knew this couldn't wait. "I need to apologize for what I said to you this morning. Properly."

"You said you were sorry. Don't do it again. And that's that," she replied, brushing him off.

He frowned. "That's all?"

Emily tried to give him a sad smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. "After all our years together, Richard, I've given up getting you to understand me. Instead, I'm happy for you to just love me."

Her words wounded him. She was trying to move past the issue, but the truth she spoke upset him deeply. His Emily, who always fought so hard to be important and to be respected and appreciated and admired, had given up on him. Yes, she valued their marriage more than anything, but at the expense of her own value? That was unexpected. Just one more thing she gave up for him. Just one more way he had taken the most incredible woman in the world and turned her into nothing more than his wife.

"Richard?" Emily's voice cut through his thought processes.

He focused once again on her face and smiled. "I love you very much, Emily. And I hope that there is never again a moment in our life together that I cause you to doubt that."

Her eyes sparkled when she smiled at his words. "You really are a very sweet man. Even if you do forget it sometimes."

"Well, you'll always be here to remind me. And inspire me," he said with a slight chuckle. He took her hand and pressed his lips to it. "I wish I could stay here with you. I hate not being able to kiss you goodnight."

She felt the same way, though she would not admit it. "It will just be like when you're out of town on business. Except this time it's you who will be in our bed alone instead of me."

"Actually, Luke offered to let me stay in his apartment over the diner while you're here because Hartford is so far away. And I couldn't even bear the idea of sleeping in our bed without you, so I'll be staying there." He had spent a few weeks early in their separation in their room without her, while she was staying in the hotel. But he had barely slept. And after about a week, he began to take naps in his study instead of facing another restless night alone in their bed.

"That was very nice of Luke."

"Yes, it was. Oh and before I forget, I told the maid that we wouldn't be home, but she asked what time she should come tomorrow, and I had no idea what to tell her."

Emily sighed. "This one's name is Karina, since I know you have no idea. But since you won't be staying at the house, it won't be a problem. The cook can have the week off, and Karina should be there for about two hours each day so she can get the mail and water the plants and make sure that things stay well-kept. She's new, but it shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll be sure to tell her tomorrow. I know Lorelai said she'd bring you anything you need, but I'll need to get some clothes for myself."

"And you'll need your briefcase, I'm sure. You were at Yale today, so you're back at the office tomorrow," she pointed out.

Richard huffed, "I can't even think about work right now. Not while you're here. I'll talk to Floyd and take some time off. I'll still teach twice a week at Yale; that doesn't take up too much time. But you are my priority."

Emily pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. "Tomorrow, could you or Lorelai do something about my car? It's still at The Dragonfly, and my purse and day planner are there somewhere, and I'll need to make some calls if I'm stuck here for a week."

"I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Richard."

"Oh!" he said, suddenly remembering, "I promised Rory I'd call her when you woke up. Would you like to talk to her?"

"Yes, please." She took the cell phone from Richard and dialed Rory's number.

"Hello?"

"Rory, hello!"

"Oh my gosh, Grandma! How are you?" Rory asked, the emotion evident in her voice.

Emily smiled. It had been a long time since she had spoken to her granddaughter. "I'm fine, Rory. I'll be here in the hospital for a week, but I'm just fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Your mother and Luke were here with some food from the diner, and your grandfather has barely let go of my hand since I woke up."

"Well good. That's how it should be. I wish I could be there."

"I wish you could, too. But it's much more important that you keep doing what you're doing. We've been reading your articles. You're so talented and we couldn't be prouder of you, Rory."

"Thanks, Grandma. I miss you guys so much."

"And we miss you. And not to rub it in, but your mother nearly lost her mind today when I ate one of Luke's burgers."

"You did!? How did you like it?"

"It was delicious. He's very talented, that Luke. I'm glad he's sticking around. If for no other reason than to make sure your mother eats something other than candy and frozen pizza."

"Yeah, he does feed us well. I'm glad you've gotten to like him. I know Mom really appreciates it."

Emily smiled. "I just want her to be happy and loved."

"And she is."

"Yes, she is."

There was a pause between the two of them before a clattering in the background caused Rory to need to go. She promised to call again soon to check in. Emily said goodbye to her and hung up the phone. She handed it back to Richard.

"How did that conversation turn to Lorelai?" he asked.

"I just told Rory that she and Luke were here, and that I appreciated the burger he brought. Rory expressed how glad she is that we approve of Luke now. And really, how could we not? He takes good care of Lorelai and Rory, he's been a part of their lives for over a decade, he works hard, and he loves them."

"Indeed he does. He's a good man. Perhaps not what we would have envisioned for our daughter, but then again, Lorelai has never been the daughter we envisioned, has she?"

Emily frowned. "No, she really hasn't." She paused, lost in thought. "Richard, did I notice something between the two of you?"

"Yes. In the midst of our panic—and I promise you, Emily, she was panicking as much as I was while you were in surgery—we seemed to come together somehow." His mouth spread into a soft smile. "I got to hug her. She started to cry and I held her in my arms like I did when she was small. She can't have been older than eight the last time I got to hold her like that."

Emily smiled, but she felt a pang of sadness and envy that Richard had been lucky enough to receive Lorelai's love and trust. Emily had always feared that she would never again have a worthy place in her daughter's life. And now Richard had what she longed for.

Richard glanced up at the clock. It was already five after eight. "I think I have to go before we get in trouble again."

"Yes, that's probably for the best." Emily wouldn't admit that she despised the idea of sleeping in this hospital room all alone, or that Richard could not have chosen a worse time to leave. She would put on her brave face. Though maybe when he left, she could convince a nurse to just drug her into sedation so she wouldn't be plagued by thoughts of inadequacy as a wife and mother and woman; today had only exacerbated each and every one of those fears.

Richard stood up and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back first thing in the morning, I promise."

"I'll be here, waiting," she said, trying to smile.

With one more squeeze of her hand, Richard left the hospital room to drive to Luke's Diner. Emily was left alone. She closed her eyes. She didn't like being alone. Not like this. She had prided herself on being independent for most of her life. Yes, she had gone from her parents' house to Smith to marrying Richard, but she had always been very self-sufficient. Her work with the DAR, the events she planned and parties she hosted, the way she kept their household organized; all these things were evidence of her capability to take care of herself and others around her. Rare were the times she ever actually felt alone, however. When she was little and her father chose to take Hopey to visit his office and not her. When she had begged her mother to let her go to college instead of making her marry the son of her father's business partner. When Richard told her that he was engaged to Pennilyn Lott. When Lorelai left. When Sweetie died and Richard had been consumed with the grief of losing his mother. When she had gone on that date with Simon McLane and returned to an empty house. And now.

She sighed to herself. Perhaps after a good night's sleep, things would seem better. When Richard came back, she wouldn't be so alone. And maybe Lorelai would come like she said she would. Though Emily didn't hold her breath for that.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

A little while later, Luke arrived at Lorelai's house. He went upstairs and found her sitting cross-legged on the bed in her Hello Kitty pajamas, absent-mindedly scratching Paul Anka behind the ears.

"You okay?" Luke asked, getting her attention.

Her eyes snapped into focus. "Yeah. I'm fine. Did you get my dad all set up?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. He should be fine. I showed him where everything is, and I told him what time the diner opens and I gave him my cell phone number in case he needs anything."

Lorelai furrowed her brow. "Did he seem okay?" she asked with concern.

He shrugged. "He did seem distracted, but other than that, he seems fine. He didn't try to franchise my diner again, but I don't know if that's really a good thing or not."

"No, I think they're done with that," Lorelai informed him with a smile. She got up from the bed and pushed Paul Anka off so she could pull down the covers. "We can figure him out tomorrow. My mom is okay, and that's all that matters right now. Let's get some sleep."

Luke kissed her softly and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth before bed. He was still mildly worried about Lorelai and how she was handling this crisis with her parents, but he would just have to wait and see and be there when she needed him.

Richard woke early the next morning. He drove to The Dragonfly to get Emily's purse and personal effects. Lorelai arrived for work while Richard was still in the parking lot.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted, getting out of her Jeep and walking over to Emily's Jaguar.

"Lorelai, good morning!" Richard replied. He was somewhat surprised when his daughter gave him a hug. He smiled as he gave her a squeeze. "Isn't it a bit early for you to be awake?"

Lorelai stepped back, feeling a little silly for just walking up and hugging him like that. "No, I was gone most of yesterday, so I wanted to get in and do a little work before I go by and see Mom. Did she say she wanted anything from the house? I figured I could go there before I go by the hospital."

"I was planning on calling her once I got there so she could tell me where things are. I have no idea. But I do need to drive her car back to Hartford. Would you be willing to follow and drive me back?"

"Sure. Let me just grab a cup of coffee and check in with Sookie and Michel. Come on in and have some breakfast." She waved for him to follow her inside the inn.

"Actually, I had a plate of eggs at Luke's. And a very good cup of coffee," Richard said, following.

"Well if Sookie's got anything you want, feel free to grab whatever. Family eats for free here," Lorelai said with a smile. She paused for a moment and frowned. "Except when the DAR comes. Then family gets charged a special society rate. I call it the snooty tax."

Richard chuckled and went into the kitchen with Lorelai. They found Sookie running around in all directions, as usual. Michel was following her around, complaining about something. He noticed his boss walk in.

"Lorelai, thank God! Would you please tell Sookie that I cannot have real cream in my coffee, and that she needs to keep soy milk in this kitchen for people who, like me, actually care about what they put in their bodies!"

"Hey Michel! My father's here!" Lorelai said loudly, cutting the Frenchman off before he could rant any further.

Michel put a grimacing smile on his face. "Ah. Mr. Gilmore. How nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you, Michel. You're looking well, despite your complaints of cream instead of soy milk," Richard said politely.

Michel clicked his tongue at Lorelai and sighed, "I like your parents."

"Yeah. So do I, sometimes. We're going to the office. Go." Lorelai pushed him out of the kitchen so they could get some work done.

Sookie paused her harried pace. "Richard, can I get you something?"

"I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee. I happen to like cream."

Sookie giggled. "Well that's because you're not crazy, no matter what Lorelai says."

Richard shared her grin. "Yes, well, just wait until your children get old enough to recognize your flaws. I've been referred to as much worse than crazy by my daughter. And yet, somehow, I love her anyway," he teased.

Sookie handed him a cup of coffee and smiled. She'd never heard either of Lorelai's parents ever say anything so kind about her before, let alone that they loved her. Something had changed due to Emily's accident, and Sookie could only hold onto the hope that it would last. All the Gilmores had gone through so much heartache caused by each other. They deserved to be a happy family, if they could ever manage it.

An hour later, Richard and Lorelai were wandering through the Gilmore house, collecting everything that Emily needed as she directed them over speakerphone.

"Lorelai, would you go in my bathroom and make sure to get my night cream? The hospital uses some kind of chemical on their linens that's drying out my skin. You should find it in the top right drawer beside my vanity. Oh, and Richard, don't forget to make sure that the air conditioner is programmed correctly. We don't need to waste electricity cooling a house that no one is using for a week."

By the time they collected everything and got all the reminders about the house that Emily could remember, they were exhausted. And it was barely nine in the morning. Both Richard and Lorelai were mildly shocked at all the things Emily kept track of. And that was just in the house. Richard's first thought was wondering how she had ever handled things after his heart attack. She took care of all the finances and insurance information that he usually dealt with and she still kept the house in working order and made sure he was following the doctor's orders for his recovery. He felt a pang of guilt for the pain he had put her through, not realizing how much she already had on her plate. He was quite impressed with her organizational skills and respected how she shouldered so much responsibility.

When they arrived at the hospital, they found Emily shouting at the television. "It's B, you idiot! Honestly, how do you not know that Duchamp is the father of the Dada movement? It's basic knowledge. Picasso? Please. What is he thinking!?"

Lorelai entered carrying a bag of Emily's things. "Hi, Mom. What's going on?" she asked with amusement. Her mother did get worked up over the strangest things.

"Lorelai, do you know this show? It's called Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. They ask multiple choice trivia questions and if you get them all right, you win a million dollars. I could do this. _I_ could be a millionaire!"

"Mom," Lorelai said, looking at her mother very seriously, "you _are_ a millionaire."

Richard had stayed quiet to this point, but Lorelai's comment made him chuckle. The show Emily had mentioned caught his attention. "Why is this so dramatic? The Safavid Empire was in modern-day Iran. This shouldn't be a difficult question!"

"You see? I don't know where they find these people," Emily said with a huff. The next question came on the screen. "Oh now this one, I don't know."

"No, neither do I," Richard said, his brow furrowing as he studied the four choices.

Lorelai smiled. "It's Colonel Bellows. He was the psychiatrist at NASA who was always suspicious of Major Nelson. Half the hijinks Jeannie did were to keep Dr. Bellows from finding out that Tony had a genie in a cute purple bottle. Gosh, didn't you guys know that? It's common television knowledge," she answered with feigned seriousness.

Sure enough, that was the correct answer. Emily pursed her lips. "Well, I was a little busy during the Sixties. Going to college. Getting married. Giving birth to you."

"It is a true tragedy that my existence prevented you from experiencing the small screen classic that is I Dream of Jeannie."

Emily rolled her eyes and sighed. A commercial had come on, so she turned off the TV. "Richard, did you bring me my books? I cannot sit and watch whatever is on television for the next week."

"Yes, Emily. We brought everything you asked for. And since I know you've wanted it desperately, here's your day planner." He handed her the black leather folder.

"Thank you very much. I can't imagine how many calls I have to return." Her eyes widened. "Oh damn!"

"What?" Lorelai asked, surprised. It was very rare that her mother ever swore, but it was always entertaining when she did.

"You didn't happen to check the answering machine, either of you?" Emily asked hopefully. Richard and Lorelai shook their heads. "Damn," she muttered.

Richard patted her shoulder affectionately. "I'll go back home later and listen to all the messages for you. And I'll be sure to write everything down so you don't miss anything." He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Good morning, by the way. How are you feeling?"

Emily attempted to run her fingers through her hair and fluff it a little. "I'm fine," she replied insistently. She hated being in bed all day. She especially disliked anyone, even Richard, seeing her when she wasn't presentable.

"Did you sleep okay?" Lorelai asked. She had noticed some dark circles around Emily's eyes, but she wasn't sure if it was because her mother wasn't wearing any makeup or if it was because she hadn't slept.

"I slept fine. The nurse sedated me with pain medication after you left last night. I have stitches and dressings on my back from where they put screws in my spine, so there isn't really a comfortable position. And being forced to remain sitting upright like this isn't really conducive to sleeping. But I did sleep."

"Hopefully you can take a nap later. Or maybe tonight will be better. Sleep is important. Sleep is good. Sleep is life," Lorelai said, lapsing into something of a chant.

Emily frowned. "Lorelai, don't you have to go to work?"

Lorelai had to remind herself that she was annoying her mother, as usual. It wasn't that Emily didn't want her there. Or maybe it was. Either way, it was probably time to leave. Lorelai could try bonding again later. Or tomorrow. "Yeah, I was gone all day yesterday. There's stuff I need to do at the inn. I'll be by again sometime soon."

Emily nodded. "Have a nice day at work. Oh, and if you could let Sookie know that I'll be calling later today to reschedule the tasting for the DAR luncheon."

"I'll let her know." Lorelai turned to her father and gave him a small smile. "I'll see you later, Dad."

He smiled and nodded as she left. Emily watched the exchange and felt a pain that didn't emanate from her back. This pain started in her heart. She took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, hiding any indication that anything was wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

"Emily, have you eaten yet? Would you like me to get you something?" Richard asked.

She blinked herself back to reality. "No, I had some rather pathetic toast. I'm fine for now. But maybe if you're here for lunch, we can have something together?"

He smiled and stroked her cheek. "Of course."

Emily did enjoy the affection he was so freely expressing. But she was starting to be concerned by it. Perhaps he was still feeling guilty for his words and trying to make up for them. Or even worse, he was pitying her as she lay in that hospital bed. "Richard, are you sure you don't have to go into work? Did you speak to Floyd?"

"I spoke to him this morning and told him I was taking two weeks off to be here for you. He wasn't pleased, but I didn't give him much choice. Why, do you want me to leave?"

She frowned. "No, of course not, but I don't want you to jeopardize the business on my account."

"I assure you, Emily, the business will be fine. But you are more important. This is where I need to be." He rummaged through one of the bags he and Lorelai brought for Emily. "Ah, here it is."

Emily couldn't turn her head far enough to see what he was doing, so she asked, "What are you looking for?"

He came to sit beside her and showed her the book he held. It was an old, slightly tattered leather-bound tome. Emily's eyes lit up when she saw it, and Richard smiled when he saw her recognize it. "I thought I could read to you for a little while, if you'd like."

"Oh, Richard! You haven't read to me since before Lorelai was born!"

"Well then, I think it's high time I started again. I was in my study and it just seemed to jump off the shelf at me. I haven't thought about Lord Byron in quite some time. But whenever I do, I think of you." Their eyes locked, filled with love. "Shall we start with my favorite?"

Emily tried to hide her smile, but she couldn't help it. "Alright," she replied softly. It had been so many years since she had heard Richard read her that poem. She watched him as his lips formed around the beautiful words, the strong timbre of his voice imbibing the deepest emotion into each syllable.

"There be none of Beauty's daughters With a magic like Thee; And like music on the waters Is thy sweet voice to me: When, as if its sound were causing The charméd ocean's pausing, The waves lie still and gleaming, And the lull'd winds seem dreaming: And the midnight moon is weaving Her bright chain o'er the deep, Whose breast is gently heaving As an infant's asleep: So the spirit bows before thee To listen and adore thee; With a full but soft emotion, Like the swell of Summer's ocean."

Emily blinked back her tears. That poem brought back so many memories. The first time she heard it, Richard had read it to her out of that very book. They had been at Yale, sitting in the shade of a tree. And when he finished reading that particular poem, he had turned to her and admitted that she was the only person he had ever pictured when reading that poem. It had always been his favorite Lord Byron poem, but he never had a face to match with the sentiment until he met her. And at that moment, Emily knew she would spend the rest of her life with that man.

Richard saw all the emotion etched in his wife's usually stoic face. "I love you, Emily. And I still think of you when I read this poem. I can't help but reminded of how perfect you are, and how beautifully Byron expresses it."

Emily didn't quite know what to say. She hadn't expected this much sentimentality at ten in the morning during her hospital stay. So rather than try to match his eloquence, she simply said, "I love you, Richard, very much. Thank you."

He stood up so he could lean in and kiss her. The first kiss they'd shared since her accident. It still wasn't a proper kiss, seeing as Emily couldn't do much in her condition. But the feeling of her lips beneath his was both comforting and electrifying, as it always was.

They broke apart, smiling at one another. Richard sat back down and continued to read. Emily watched him happily. It was over half an hour before a nurse interrupted them. She had to check the dressing on Emily's stitches. Richard left to give her some privacy, telling her he would stop back in Hartford to check their voice messages.

Richard smiled as he drove, proud of the progress he had made in the last two days with his wife and daughter. Lorelai seemed to be equally committed to improving their relationship. But Emily seemed reticent. Richard knew she had been disappointed many times before by both her husband and her daughter. It was understandable that she would be wary and guarded. Richard knew he wasn't giving up. He hoped that Lorelai wouldn't get discouraged by Emily's rebuffs of self-preservation.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

When he arrived home once more, Richard instinctively went into his study. He sat down at his laptop to check his email, and before he knew it, an hour had gone by. He cursed himself for falling back into his pattern. He really should have returned some calls to clients, but he didn't want Emily to get angry at the delay in returning her own important calls to whatever ridiculous society desperately needed her attention. With a sigh, Richard went to the answering machine. He grabbed a pen and paper and pressed play.

"You have fourteen new messages." Three of them were from Floyd, desperate for Richard to speak to a Belgian client. He had already sent a few emails to quell that debacle. One was from the office clerk at Yale, telling him he had some messages from student requesting appointments. He could deal with those later.

The other ten voicemails were for Emily. He took down each one with as much detail as possible. Abigail Harris needed Emily's approval and signature to allot DAR funds to build a new wing in the Veteran's Hospital. Melanie Roberts called to ask if Emily was alright after she missed her usual time reading to the children at the foster home. Judith Smith wanted to know whether the Horticultural Society would be continuing the program Emily had started the year before in growing a vegetable garden to donate to the homeless shelter. Lynn Charles wanted to set up an appointment with Emily about the upcoming clothing drive at the library. Sandra Hagen needed to know the name of the town in Uganda where the Symphony Board would be sponsoring the new school. On and on, more and more people needed Emily's help on some kind of charity, either because she had started it or because she was in charge of making the decisions.

As he wrote down all the messages, Richard was somewhat stunned. He had no idea. He thought these societies just threw parties and teas and were full of society ladies like Emily, gossiping about inane things like china patterns and floral arrangements. But his wife was an extremely important person in all those societies, as he knew, and she was responsible for a great number of important and worthwhile things. A new wing in a hospital? Reading to orphans? Growing food for the homeless? Teaching girls to dance, providing clothes to impoverished families, funding a new school in Uganda? How could he not have known about any of this? Why hadn't she told him? Richard was a little offended that she would keep those things from him. He wouldn't have dared disparage her if she had let him know about all she did. But a little voice in the back of Richard's head told him that she probably had told him. He just hadn't paid enough attention to care about what she actually did at all those meetings with the DAR and the Horticultural Society and the Symphony Board.

Richard made sure he wrote everything down and returned to the hospital. Emily had just finished fixing her face when Richard came back. It had taken her twice as long as usual due to her limited movement and the fact that she only had a compact mirror instead of her usual full-sized lighted vanity. Richard walked in and was somewhat taken aback.

"Look at you!"

"What about me?" she asked coyly.

He grinned and walked over to kiss her cheek. "You look like your proper self. Which is to say that you look wonderful." He loved seeing the way her eyes lit up whenever she was pleasantly surprised by something. He sat down and handed her the page he took down. "Here are your messages, my dear."

She sighed. "How many are there?"

"Ten were for you. I had a few of my own, but I've taken care of most of it." He watched her eyes scan the page, likely prioritizing which calls needed to be returned first. "I had no idea you were involved in so many projects," he noted casually.

"I keep busy," she replied, not looking up from the note. Emily knew this would happen. Yesterday was supposed to be a very busy day for her. After her meeting with Sookie, she had her shift at the foster home, followed by a meeting at the Horticultural Society and a few things to sign at the DAR office. And that was why Richard's words hurt her more than they perhaps would have otherwise. She had a feeling that after seeing all the things she was responsible for, he might change his tune.

"I thought all those societies just had parties and teas and luncheons and things."

"Yes, we do a lot of that. And I am in charge of those because I'm quite good at it. But we throw those parties and things in order to raise money for the real work we do," she explained.

"And you're in charge of that too?"

"Some of it. But my approval is needed for most major actions."

There was a short pause before Richard skeptically asked, "You read to orphans?"

"Twice each month. I like children."

"You do?" He sounded surprised.

Emily scoffed, "Yes, Richard. That's why I teach debutantes to dance and have proper manners like I never got to do with Lorelai. And I read to the little ones because I never got to with Rory." Emily's mouth clamped shut. She hadn't meant to say that much. These damned painkillers were making her far too emotional.

Richard hadn't expected that. And once again, it was all his fault. He couldn't even look at her. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more children," he said quietly.

"That's not what I'm saying." She reached over as best she could and put her hand on top of his.

He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. His eyes were fixed on their hands, his brow furrowed in distress. "I took so much from you, Emily. You could have done so much better in your life."

"You've given me a wonderful life, Richard. There's no tragedy here. So stop pitying me. I don't want to talk about this anymore." She took her hand back from him. The conversation was over.

Richard moved his hand away. He felt a stinging constriction in his chest. He hadn't meant to upset her. In fact, he had intended the opposite. But he knew better than to continue the topic by apologizing.

After a brief pause, Emily broke the awkward silence. "Richard, if you don't mind, I have to return these calls."

"Of course," he replied with a nod. "I'll go get us something for lunch, if you'd like. Anything you want in particular?"

"Anything fresh would be wonderful."

Richard nodded. He kissed his wife on the cheek and left.

Emily got right to work. "Hello, Melanie? It's Emily Gilmore. I'm so sorry I didn't call about my shift yesterday. I'm afraid I've had an unexpected interruption to my schedule…No, no, I'm fine. I'll be back next week. Can I reschedule my shift for some time then? …Yes, the twelfth should be fine. Is three o'clock available? … Perfect. I'll see you then." And on to the next one. "Hello Judith. Didn't we already discuss the vegetable garden last month? I believe I asked you to take care of it…No, I can't come in until next week…Fine, I'll have someone come and pick up the contracts from the office so I can sign them."

She spent almost an hour returning all her calls and stared at the wall for a few moments. She had a bit of a dilemma brewing inside her. There were errands that needed to be run and documents to pick up and sign, and she was obviously unable to do it. Her first thought was to ask the various secretaries at her charities to drop them off, but she didn't want anyone to know she was in the hospital if she could help it, and she especially didn't want anyone to see her like this. She could ask Richard to do it…he did seem very eager and willing to help. No, he would just start asking questions, now that he was suddenly so interested in how she spent her days. Emily sighed. Injuries made privacy so difficult. It wasn't enough that the nurses felt the need to prod her every few hours, but now her husband, who could never be bothered before, seemed intent on examining her every thought about every conceivable thing.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. With a twinge of pain, she reached over to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi Mom, Dad came by to pick up lunch for you guys, and Sookie says she'd love to whip you up anything you want. So what are you in the mood for?"

Emily gave a small smile. It was a very kind offer. "I think perhaps a nice salad. I trust Sookie's professional judgment on what exactly that would consist of."

"A nice salad of your choosing, Sook," Lorelai called out, holding the phone away as she did so. Emily could hear Richard in the background, but she couldn't make out what he said. "Dad says he'll be there with lunch in about half an hour," Lorelai told her.

"Wonderful, thank you."

There was a slight pause before Lorelai asked, "So how are you feeling, Mom?"

"The same as this morning when you saw me, Lorelai. Though I was able to return all the calls I missed yesterday, so that was helpful."

"You got everything taken care of, then?"

"Not quite…" Emily paused, debating whether she should. She swallowed her pride and said, "Actually, Lorelai, I could use your help. Though I know you're very busy."

"No, I'd be happy to help!" Lorelai suddenly felt very bubbly. When had her mother ever asked for help, rather than demanded it? Maybe those painkillers were giving her some good side-effects.

"Do you think you have time to pick up some things for me in Hartford? There are some things that I should have signed yesterday."

"Sure, Mom. Let me go into the office and write it all down." After a moment of rustling, Lorelai had her pen poised. "Okay, go."

Emily rattled off the list of things she needed done. She was shocked that Lorelai had agreed to help so readily. And without one ounce of sarcasm or silliness.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

After getting off the phone, Lorelai stared down at the long list of instructions she had taken down. There was no way that all of this had to be done today. The DAR might be urgent if only because those ladies were vultures, and if there were any crack in Emily's leadership, they'd be circling. But Lorelai couldn't imagine that the Horticultural Society or Symphony Board were at all pressing.

She sighed to herself. She had given in to _one_ nice impulse to do her mother a favor, and, no surprise, Emily had taken full advantage.

Lorelai returned to the kitchen to find her father chatting good-naturedly with Sookie. "Okay, it looks like I'll be spending the rest of the day running around Hartford. Anyone else need anything? Lace from Belgium? Chocolate from Switzerland? A crocodile from Kenya?"

Richard frowned at her. "Lorelai, your mother just had major surgery and is bedridden for a week. I think you can imagine how difficult that is for her. And an unexpected incapacitation like this puts a wrench in the works for all the things she's responsible for," he scolded.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. She's sending me to pick up contracts for her to sign. Because God forbid the DAR make their gardener wait a whole week to renew his contract."

"I'm sure that's not what it's for."

She shrugged. "It'll be something like that. But it's fine. I'll go. I'll do all the fetching that Her Majesty, Queen Emily needs."

In the car, Lorelai called Rory.

"Hey, Mom! We're in the bus, so I can talk for a few minutes. How's Grandma?"

"She's gonna be fine. Though being stuck in the hospital for a week might drive her insane. Well, more insane. This morning she was yelling at the contestants on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," Lorelai told her.

"Really? She's watching daytime TV?" Rory asked with a surprised laugh.

"Yep. She knew most of the answers, actually. She said that _she_ could be a millionaire."

"But she _is_ a millionaire," Rory pointed out.

Lorelai exclaimed, "That's what I said! Dad laughed."

"How's he doing?" she asked with concern.

Lorelai paused. "Um…I'm not sure. He's been really attentive to her. Which is sweet. But I don't know. It almost seems like he's guilty about something."

"Guilty why?"

"No idea. But it's kinda weird."

"Mom, are you being nice?"

Lorelai could just picture the look on her daughter's face as she said that. "I'm being very nice," she assured her.

"Really? Because you're not always great in a Gilmore family crisis."

"Yeah, well, it seems to be going okay so far. Right now I'm on the way to Hartford to run all of Emily's errands. So wish me luck with the Symphony Board, Horticultural Society, and DAR office."

"You'll be fine. But be nice! No jokes!" Rory instructed.

"You're no fun," Lorelai pouted.

"Don't get Grandma kicked out of her clubs!"

"Ugh, fine."

Lorelai went to all the places on her mother's list. The Horticultural Society had allowed her to just take a manila envelope from the receptionist. The Symphony Board engaged her in conversation before giving her whatever Emily needed. But they all got very quiet when Lorelai told them that her favorite composer was Cyndi Lauper.

They handed Lorelai a large folder. "That should be everything Emily needs. Give her our best. I hope she feels better soon."

"Well, when I spoke to her earlier, she was just as she always is. If the doctors would let her leave, she'd be here herself," Lorelai said, trying to hide how desperately she wanted to leave.

"You know, this was her project. She came up with the idea and got the ball rolling on it. We had our doubts, but she was undeterred," the Symphony Board lady told her.

"Yeah, that sounds like her. When she wants to throw a fancy party, she throws a _very_ fancy party."

"Well the gala was wonderful, and we raised more money than expected, but this is for the school."

Lorelai frowned, thoroughly confused.

"Didn't she tell you? The Symphony Board, thanks to the success and quality of the Hartford Symphony, is sponsoring a school in Uganda. There's a man there who wants to create a music academy. Give the children exposure to new things, and so forth. Emily read an article about it and four months later, it's finally time for her to sign all the contracts to transfer the money to start construction."

Lorelai was stunned. "My mom wants to build a music academy in Africa?"

"She wants to, and she is."

"Wow. Well, I'd better get these papers to her. I'm sure I'll be back soon to drop them off."

After that thoroughly strange encounter, Lorelai headed to her final dreaded stop: the DAR office. As she walked in, she was reminded that Rory had once worked here. And for the life of her, Lorelai could not picture her daughter as one of these women. That kid could do anything and fit in anywhere if she wanted to. Everyone loved Rory. But all these women were at least twice Rory's age and exponentially more arrogant and stuffy.

"Lorelai Gilmore, is that you?"

Lorelai spun around to see her mother's nemesis, Mitzy Lightfoot, greeting her. "It's me! My mom sent me to pick up some papers for her?"

"Oh yes, of course. What a pity she couldn't be here herself. Something more important on her plate today?" Mitzy asked with feigned concern.

"Uh, she's in the hospital, so I guess that's slightly more important. But she would be here if she could be," Lorelai assured her.

Mitzy's pale gray eyes widened. "The hospital? For how long?"

Lorelai was taken aback. Was this woman really excited at the prospect of Emily being incapacitated for a length of time? It was absolutely astounding. "She'll be in the hospital about a week. But she'll make a full recovery."

"I suppose that means she won't be teaching the debutante dance classes any time soon." A hint of glee came in through her voice.

"I know those classes are very important to her. She will find a way to take care of everything," Lorelai insisted. "My mother has never let the DAR down yet, and she never will."

Mitzy Lightfoot narrowed her eyes slightly. "I've never seen you at any of our meetings."

"I am not a member of the DAR. But my actions have nothing to do with my mother's capability." The words fell out of Lorelai's mouth before she really thought about them. Somehow, lurking deep under the surface, Lorelai had been harboring the knowledge that her life had reflected poorly on her parents. Obviously they felt that way, but she'd never bought into it. But hearing her mother being subtly attacked behind her back by this ridiculous woman had made Lorelai strangely defensive. "If you could get whatever it is Emily needs to sign, I'll be on my way," Lorelai added coldly.

Mitzy went to get the folder of documents. "It should be rather self-explanatory. Once she approves the plans, she can sign off on the transfer of the funds."

"Plans for what?"

"The new wing for the Veterans Hospital. On our last visit there, Emily found the lack of a mental health rehabilitation center to be of concern. She got the votes to raise and donate ten million dollars," Mitzy explained bitterly.

For the second time that day, Lorelai was stunned. "Oh. Okay. Well, I'll just go now."

She practically ran out to the Jeep and sat there for a few seconds, trying to figure out what on earth had just happened. She had fallen through a wormhole into some crazy parallel universe where Emily Gilmore, who had yet to meet a maid she couldn't fire, was responsible for incredible philanthropic works.

This was just too much. Lorelai pulled her phone out as she started the car and called Rory once again.

"Mom, is Grandma okay? Did something happen?" Rory asked in a panic.

"No. I mean, I don't know. What?"

"You've called twice in one day. We barely talk once a week and now you're calling me twice in one day. I figured it was an emergency," Rory explained.

"Nothing like that. As far as I know. I just got done doing all the errands she sent me on."

"Oh no, what did you do?"

"I was really good!" Lorelai protested. "But get this: apparently Emily Gilmore is the queen of charity around here! The Melinda Gates of Hartford."

Rory was confused. "Well yeah. What do you think all those things she belongs to do?"

"Throw parties for other rich people."

"Yeah, they do that so they can pay for charity things. That's the whole point."

Lorelai felt like Rory wasn't really getting how weird this was. "Okay, but did you know she came up with a plan for the Symphony Board to fund a music academy in Uganda? Or that she raised ten million dollars to build a mental rehabilitation center at the Veterans Hospital?"

"Oh is it time to sign the papers on those?" Rory asked excitedly.

"You knew about this!?"

"How did you not know about this?"

"I don't know! Why doesn't this freak you out at all?" Lorelai asked, slightly annoyed that Rory wasn't on the same page.

"Mom, I worked for the DAR. I lived in that house. I know what she does. She's demanding and annoying and insane, but she does really wonderful things. Seriously, how did you not have any idea?"

Lorelai fell silent. How did she not know? Her father's words echoed in her ear. She and Emily's relationship had been frozen in time since she was sixteen, not having the luxury of growing and developing in the same way Rory had been able to, somehow. Lorelai had been so opposed to her parents' life as a teenager that she'd retained that aversion to anything and everything Emily did. Until today. "Hey kid, I gotta go."

"Yeah, me too. Love you, Mom!"

They hung up and Lorelai drove back to Litchfield Hospital, her mind still swirling with these new realizations.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Twelve_

When Lorelai arrived back at the hospital, she found her father sitting on a chair with a book open. He stopped reading and turned to the door to greet her.

She pasted a smile on her face. "Hi, guys! Mom, I picked up everything you needed."

Emily nodded. "Thank you, Lorelai. Did you have any trouble?"

"Nope. Though I did run into Mitzy Lightfoot at the DAR."

Emily's eyes went wide. "You didn't tell her I was in the hospital, did you?!"

"I kinda had to, Mom. But I was pretty vague. I didn't tell her what happened or where you were. Just that you'd be in the hospital for a week and you're gonna be just fine," Lorelai replied. "And she did make some comment about you not being able to teach dance classes?"

"Oh I'd forgotten about that!" Emily flipped through her day planner. "Yes, here it is. The girls are learning foxtrot tomorrow." She sighed heavily. "I suppose I'll have to cancel last minute."

"Emily, you've just had emergency surgery. Everyone will understand," Richard told her gently.

"Nevertheless, I don't like leaving my students like this. Now all the lessons will be a week behind! Or more!"

Lorelai had an idea and was a little surprised at herself for even contemplating it. "I can teach the foxtrot."

Richard and Emily both turned to their daughter with shock in their eyes.

She had to laugh a little. "I mean, it's been a while, but I bet Miss Patty could help out. Would it be possible for the girls to come to the Hollow? We can use Patty's studio, just like when Rory had to learn to dance for her debutante ball. Christopher and I helped her learn." Lorelai felt a pang in her chest thinking about her now-ex-husband. She'd wanted so much to love him the way she was supposed to. But she had Luke, who was so much better than Christopher had ever been, both to Lorelai and Rory.

Richard and Emily glanced at one another skeptically. "Well, if you think you'd be up to it…I do hate to cancel on the girls."

"We can definitely work it out, Mom. I'm not gonna let that Mitzy Lightfoot get any ammo against you for this," Lorelai promised.

"If you're sure…"

"Yes! Mom! I'm sure! But if you keep doubting me, I'll rescind my offer," she threatened.

Emily shook her head. "No, please do it. I'm very grateful, Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled and gave a curt nod, unsure of what else to do. Despite years of experience telling her not to revel in this moment, she couldn't help but feel a warm sensation in her chest upon hearing her mother's words.

"Their lesson is supposed to be at four. I'll call them all as soon as you arrange it at your dance studio," Emily said.

"I'll go see Patty now. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll give you a call to confirm as soon as I talk to her." She had just put her purse down, but Lorelai picked it back up again, ready to leave on yet another errand for her mother. At least this time she could go back to Stars Hollow and check in at the Dragonfly and get something substantial to eat. "Hey, anything else you need while I'm out?"

Richard responded before Emily could open her mouth. "You've done plenty today, Lorelai, thank you."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later." She flashed a bright smile at her parents, satisfied she'd done good today and had been recognized for it.

After Lorelai had left, Emily stared after her for a moment.

"That was very nice of Lorelai to offer to teach your class," Richard stated. He could see how much of an effort their daughter was making and wanted to be sure it wasn't lost on Emily.

"Yes, it was." Emily's voice was distant and distracted.

Richard placed his hand on hers to get her attention. "Emily?"

She swiftly turned to look at him, giving a small smile as she did. "Why don't you keep reading to me?" she suggested.

He paused for a beat before nodding and picking up the Byron again. Emily closed her eyes as his strong voice murmured the beautiful words.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter Thirteen_

In Stars Hollow, Lorelai drove straight to Miss Patty's. She found the woman herself directing a group of little girls in some kind of ballet routine.

"Lorelai, hello sweetheart. How's your mother doing?" Patty asked with concern, her eyes still trained on her pupils.

"She's awake and recovering. It'll be another few days before she can go home, though. She's really restless," Lorelai replied. She paused for a moment, wondering how exactly to make such a big request. "Actually, Patty, I was wondering if you could do us a kinda huge favor."

"Anything, honey, what do you need?"

Lorelai couldn't help but smile. She was so lucky to have found this town with these people who loved her so much. "Mom teaches ballroom dance to debutantes, and she obviously can't teach the foxtrot tomorrow, so I offered to teach. But I am a little rusty. Could the girls come here tomorrow?"

"You need help teaching foxtrot to a bunch of teen girls? Of course, honey!" Patty finally turned away from her dance class with enthusiasm for Lorelai's proposal.

"Patty, I owe you BIG!" She pulled out her cellphone. "I'll let Mom know. Thanks so much!"

"Oh any time!"

Back at the hospital, Emily spent the rest of the afternoon calling all the girls' parents to make sure they could get the debutantes to Stars Hollow for their dance lesson. Richard sat by, watching her. It was sweet of him to want to spend time with her, even if she was busy, but it was a little unnerving. She had things to do. And she wasn't much to look at stuck in bed. Wouldn't he get bored? Find something to do?

Eventually he opened one of the books he'd brought for her and read as she made her phone calls. Every so often, he'd look up from the page and give her a soft smile. And despite almost _wanting_ to be annoyed by it, Emily couldn't help but get a warm feeling inside her every time he looked at her like that. The first time he'd retired, he'd paid far too much attention to her because he was bored and had nothing better to do. But this was different. There were a million things he could have been doing. But instead, he was looking at her like that.

Lorelai brought dinner from Luke's for them. The three of them sat and ate together and, shockingly, had a very pleasant evening. Emily and Lorelai spent most of the time discussing the class for the next day. Which girls were good learners, which ones were less than enthusiastic, and which were downright difficult. Lorelai already felt a kinship with those difficult girls.

Richard watched his wife and daughter converse, amazed at what he was seeing. They weren't arguing or trading witty barbs. They were just having a conversation about a common goal. Even when they both talked about Rory, they fought over what was best. But here was Lorelai, motivated to do what her mother needed, and Emily, grateful for Lorelai's help.

After they all finished eating, Lorelai cleaned up and went home to Luke. Richard stayed with Emily until the very last moment of visiting hours.

"You know, that was a very lovely sight to see, you and Lorelai," he commented.

Emily shrugged slightly, as movement was still extremely painful. "She seemed very cooperative, but I just hope to god she doesn't ruin those girls with her attitude about debutante balls and everything else those girls have been working so hard for."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," he reassured her.

She didn't respond. She just watched him look at her.

"Is there anything you need? Anything I can get for you?"

"No, Richard, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?

"Yes, I'm quite sure," Emily insisted. Her pleasant expression faltered, her brow furrowing just slightly.

Richard could tell she was getting frustrated. He didn't want to invoke her ire at all, but he also didn't want to leave her. Luckily, it was nearly eight o'clock. Their continued disobedience toward the seven o'clock curfew for visiting hours seemed to have gone unnoticed by the hospital staff. "I suppose I'll head back to Luke's now," Richard said resignedly. He collected his things and gave her a soft kiss before bidding her goodnight and leaving.

Emily spent another night feeling restless and enduring a fitful sleep, ordering the nurse to increase her painkillers in a vain attempt to numb the pain, both inside and out. Richard had stayed with her as long as he could, but truth be told, she didn't want him there. She didn't want to be there either. It was becoming exhausting to sit there doing nothing as he waited on her, like she couldn't do anything for herself. Which she couldn't. And she was going crazy with boredom every time she was left alone for more than an hour. How she would be able to last another few days, she didn't know.

Richard had said he'd bring her breakfast in the morning, but she knew he had to get to Yale. She didn't know how he planned to fit all that in, but there he was, the moment visiting hours started at seven. He came with a plate of blueberry pancakes for each of them and a large thermos of coffee.

"Am I allowed caffeine?" she asked, thinking about the immense amounts of opiates in her system that had allowed her to get even a modicum of sleep.

His face fell. "Oh, I didn't think. I'll find a doctor and ask." He set everything down on the side table and left to find some answers.

Emily wanted to eat her breakfast, with or without coffee, but the bags of food were just out of her reach. She couldn't twist around to grab anything.

Thankfully, a nurse came in. "Good morning, Mrs. Gilmore," he said brightly. "How are you feeling today?"

She glared at him. "Tired and hungry. What are you doing now?"

"I'm going to check your dressings and to help you stand up for the first time since your surgery. After that, you can have your breakfast."

The idea of standing and taking the first inches toward being mobile again was certainly appealing. She allowed the young man to check the incisions from surgery, and when he was satisfied that everything was healing properly, he instructed her on how to scoot to the edge of the bed without disturbing the stitches. "Okay, so now I'm going to lower the bed so your feet will touch the floor. You'll plant your feet, okay, and I'll stand in front of you and you push off my arms to a standing position, okay?"

Emily bristled at his persistent use of the word 'okay' but kept her disapproval to herself for now. She was distracted by feeling the bed hum from the motor as she was lowered closer to the ground. "What an odd sensation," she mused.

"All to help us help you get better faster. Okay, now we try, okay?"

She grumbled under her breath and begrudgingly placed her hands on his beefy forearms.

"There you go. You okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I haven't done anything yet," she spat.

"Take it slow, Mrs. Gilmore. Shift your weight to your feet. Bend your knees. Use my arms as leverage. Push down…that's it!"

Somehow, Emily had been able to stand with very little difficulty. She'd thought it would be much harder. It was a strange sensation, though. She was standing just fine. Slightly wobbly, but she held on to the nurse to stabilize herself. She tried to correct her posture but felt a twinge in her lower back, probably where the screws had been fitted in her spine.

At that moment, Richard returned to the room. "Emily! You're standing!"

She looked over to him with a smug expression. "Yes, I am. I know how much you wanted for me to be bedridden for the rest of my life. I'm sorry I couldn't accommodate."

He chuckled, knowing she must be feeling better if she was sassing him like this.

"You're doing great, Mrs. Gilmore. Just stay there for another minute or so. The longer you can stand, the better your healing will go," the nurse said encouragingly.

Richard seemed to notice him for the first time. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nico, sir. I'm going to be Mrs. Gilmore's physical therapy nurse for the next few days."

"You're properly trained for this? You have all the requisite certifications?"

Nico smiled. "Yes, sir. I've been doing this for the last fifteen years. And Mrs. Gilmore looks like she'll be one of the quickest recoveries I've seen!"

"Yes, my wife is remarkable. And, Emily, the doctor I spoke to said that you may have one cup of coffee, and it won't interact with any of your medications," he informed her with a kind smile.

She nodded to him before turning back to Nico. She couldn't vocally respond. Her entire body was out of practice being used, and she could feel herself start to shake slightly. Nico must have felt it too, because he instructed her how to best sit back down and helped lower her back into her former position. And, to Emily's pleasure, he only said 'okay' once.

Richard helped her get situated back in bed after Nico left, and the Gilmores ate their breakfast together.

"You couldn't find a newspaper?" Emily asked, noticing the paper's conspicuous absence.

"I read some of it earlier at Luke's while I had some coffee."

"I don't recall the last time we had breakfast together and you didn't have your nose in a newspaper," she noted.

His eyes twinkled as he grinned at her. "Well, the last few days have been something of a wakeup call for me. There will be changes from here on out," he assured her.

Emily was skeptical, and therefore did not respond. She ate her pancakes, allowing her mind to wander to the debutante dance lesson Lorelai would be covering later. A distinct feeling of dread settled into the pit of her stomach.

After breakfast, Richard had to leave to teach his Economics class at Yale, once again leaving Emily at the worst possible time. She checked her planner to make sure there wasn't anything else pressing that she should attend to. Once she realized there wasn't, she picked up one of the books Richard had brought for her and began to read. She finished the entire novel by the time the girls would have started arriving at the dance studio in Stars Hollow.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Fourteen_

"Hey, everyone! I'm Lorelai Gilmore. Your regular teacher, Emily, is my mom. And she wishes she could be here today, but she can't, so you get me instead!"

Most of the girls looked distinctly unhappy about being there. One blonde was staring daggers at Lorelai.

"Alright, so welcome to Stars Hollow and the famous Miss Patty School!" Lorelai continued.

Patty came out from the back room. "Welcome, ladies! I'm Miss Patty, and Lorelai tells me you're supposed to learn the foxtrot today." A number of nods came from the group. Patty smiled. "Well buckle up and get ready because we're going to dance. Everyone put their things in the back of the room and then get into two staggered lines facing the doors," she instructed.

And so the lesson began. Patty started by teaching them the basic steps alone, and then had them pair up. They had an odd number, so Lorelai paired with the angry blonde from earlier.

"Hi, I'm Lorelai."

"You said that," the girl grumbled.

"What's your name?"

"Tiffany."

"It's nice to meet you Tiffany. And if you keep up with all the grumble mumbling, you'll fail Emily's classes and no will let you be a deb," Lorelai teased. She was met by another glare. But despite her displeasure with the situation, Tiffany seemed to be a great dancer.

"Miss Lorelai?"

Lorelai stopped dancing and looked around, startled by the odd moniker. "Uh…yeah?"

A redheaded girl spoke up. "Miss Lorelai, this doesn't look right."

"Well, it's ballroom dancing, so nothing looks right about this situation," Lorelai quipped.

"Mrs. Gilmore always has a man come in and show us how it's supposed to look when we partner with someone who can actually lead," the annoying redhead whined.

"Perhaps I may be of some service."

Lorelai turned to find her father standing in the doorway. "Hi, Dad!" she greeted excitedly. "Perfect timing! You wanna foxtrot?"

"I would be delighted."

Patty changed the record on the gramophone, and Richard began to lead his daughter in a dance. All the girls stopped and stared. Richard tried to ignore how everyone was scrutinizing him, but it was an odd sensation. He realized that this was the first time he'd danced with his daughter like this. An entirely different sensation rose within him. He hadn't gotten to dance with her at her debutante ball because she'd gotten pregnant. He hadn't gotten to dance with her at her wedding because she'd eloped in France with Christopher. But now, they glided around the floor like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

He cleared his throat, pushing the lump of emotion away, and spoke to all the students watching. "You see, girls, the most important part of any ballroom dance is a strong leader. I myself have been dancing for many, many years, and I have therefore, in my humble opinion, developed such skills. Now, Lorelai is a lovely dancer but rather out of practice. But see how I, as her partner, showcase her elegance through the way I lead her around the floor."

"But also note the way my elegance and grace allows my partner to lead in such a proficient manner," Lorelai said, with just a hint of teasing sarcasm.

"That is very true. That's why you girls are all taking lessons. You have to have some idea of what you're doing so that your partner can showcase you," Patty added. "But a good leader can partner anyone, see?" She cut in between Lorelai and Richard. Richard chuckled and led Patty around in the foxtrot.

Lorelai laughed and turned her attention back to the students, walking amongst them and getting them focused on their own dancing.

When no one else was looking, Patty smiled up at her dance partner. "My my, it's been a while since I've been so masterfully handled," she murmured. Richard nearly lost his timing as a result of her innuendo. He spun her to cover his misstep. When Patty spun back in, she let her hand land on Richard's backside. "Speaking of being handled," she quipped, giving him a squeeze.

"My god!" he exclaimed.

Everyone turned to see what had happened. Richard was visibly flustered. Patty just grinned in that way she always did, eyeing Richard like a piece of meat.

Lorelai knew immediately what must have happened. "Patty!" she scolded.

Patty just shrugged. "He's very tall. You know how I like tall."

"Tall, short, fat, thin, you just like them to be breathing!"

The girls began to giggle and whisper amongst themselves. "Back to your partners!" Patty barked, ensuring that the lesson continued on.

Lorelai followed her father outside. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Do you know what that woman just did?!"

"Not exactly, but since it's Patty, I've got a pretty good idea. But don't worry about it. She's harmless."

"You clearly have a different definition of 'harmless,'" Richard growled.

She had to laugh. "Really, Dad, it's not a big deal."

"Perhaps not to you, Lorelai, but I am a married man and I will not be treated like a…a gigolo!"

Lorelai just laughed.

"Your insensitivity and inappropriate sense of humor is infuriating," he told her. With that, he turned and walked away.

Richard clung to his bad mood all the way to Litchfield Hospital. He marched right up to Emily's room, prepared to tell her what had transpired, and apologize to her for any disrespect of their marriage that had occurred inadvertently. But when he arrived, he found her standing once more. This time, she wasn't holding onto the nurse's arms. She was standing up all on her own. And his mood shifted completely. "Emily, look at you!" He beamed at her, and she smiled back proudly.

"Mrs. Gilmore is doing so well, sir," Nico informed him.

"Nico says I'll be walking tomorrow," she boasted.

Richard walked over to her and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You'll be back to your usual self in no time at all. I'm so glad," he told her softly.

Emily could feel herself losing strength rapidly, so she informed Nico that she would like to get back into bed. He helped her get settled and made her promise to get plenty of rest before he left for the night.

"Now that we won't be interrupted, tell me all about your day," she said pleasantly.

Richard told her about Yale, teaching despite not having fully prepared for the day's lesson. The students had an essay to turn in, so there wasn't much teaching involved that day. He made up the office hours he had cancelled in order to rush to the ER after Emily's accident. And then he arrived at the important part. "On my way back, I stopped in Stars Hollow to check on Lorelai and the dance class."

"Oh you did? How did it go?" she asked eagerly.

"Lorelai did a wonderful job, I think, giving the girls the basic steps and helping them practice. The lesson was still going when I left."

"You left early?"

"Yes, I had to. That Miss Patty who runs the dance studio in the town?"

She nodded. "We've met her before, yes."

"Well, I was demonstrating strong partnering for the class…"

"A very important aspect of ballroom dancing," Emily interjected.

"And I informed your pupils of this fact. When all of a sudden, Patty cut in and began to dance with me, and…well…let's just say that if I'd stayed, she might have eaten me alive."

Emily's brow furrowed with concern. "What do you mean?"

"She made some rather suggestive and inappropriate comments and then proceeded to grab at me in a most unwelcome manner," Richard stated, in the vaguest terms he could come up with.

"She what!?" Emily was outraged. "She knows you're married, and she knows I'm not about to die, right?"

"Yes, Emily, I believe she was aware."

"How could she do that?"

"The excuse she gave was that I am tall and therefore irresistible."

Emily's eyes widened and the tone of her voice changed from hysterical to low and terrifying. "So you encouraged her?"

"Of course not!"

"Really? You weren't flirting at all? Not making charming comments with that grin you do and that twinkle in your eye?"

"If I did, I assure you it was entirely unintentional," he assured her.

Emily didn't know what to say. She believed him. But at the same time, she almost didn't want to. "I think you'd better go," she instructed quietly.

"No, Emily, I…"

"Please go, Richard. I can't really look at you right now."

He paused, stood slowly, and waited for her to change her mind. She didn't. "If that's what you want." She nodded. "Very well. As you wish."


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

Emily sat in bed, staring at the wall in front of her and fuming with rage. How dare that woman come on to her husband! The nerve! The complete and utter classless disrespect! Emily couldn't believe that an adult could behave so abominably.

A memory slid into Emily's mind. An old memory, from many, many years earlier. Half a lifetime ago. Emily had just given birth a few weeks earlier. God, she'd gained so much weight. She never thought she'd be able to get it off. But Richard's firm was holding a gala to celebrate fifty years in business. She'd done her best to look elegant and pretty, as was expected. Richard had insisted she looked beautiful, but Emily knew that her dress barely fit and her hormones had caused her hair to be extremely uncooperative. Richard had looked so handsome but he had to have his chubby blob of a wife on his arm. Emily still didn't like to think about it. Especially because Priscilla Mackintosh had been eyeing Richard all night. When Emily excused herself to go to the restroom, Priscilla had swooped in. Emily returned five minutes later to see that god-awful woman sitting in her seat, leaning forward and speaking to Richard in hushed tones, laughing and batting her eyes and touching his arm. And something in her snapped. It was probably the hormones. She asked one of the waiters to ask Mr. Gilmore to get a message from the valet. As soon as Richard had left the table, Emily sat down beside Priscilla, and told her in no uncertain terms that if she ever put her tacky manicured hands on Richard ever again, or tried to speak to him in that husky, over-the-hill prostitute voice, Emily would ensure that the name of Priscilla Mackintosh was never again uttered in polite society. After all, Emily was on the admissions board of the DAR at the time, and she knew that Priscilla had only gained entry because of an ancestor who had abandoned the Revolutionary Army to run off with the wife of a British officer.

From her hospital bed, Emily had to smile to herself. That had been the first time she had used her razor-sharp wit to her advantage like that in a public setting. Most recently, she had taken Shira Huntzberger down a few pegs using a similar tactic. Emily had always had that talent, and even when she was feeling awful about anything else, her quick tongue had always been a source of power.

But here, in the hospital, Emily had no power at all. She was utterly helpless. She couldn't even stand up without assistance. Her mind was just fine, but what good would it do if she couldn't go anywhere or do anything?

Lorelai had helped her by teaching that class. Richard had helped by going to assist. And that…that woman had made a pass at her husband. And there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

The phone rang, causing Emily's heart to skip a beat. She caught her breath and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom. The last of the girls just left to go back to Hartford, so I thought I'd call and let you know how the dance lesson went."

"And?"

"I think it went really well. By the end, they all seemed to know the steps well enough. Some were better than others, but they all knew what they were doing. That Tiffany sure is a ray of sunshine," Lorelai commented.

Emily nodded knowingly. "Oh yes. Tiffany Finnley. Her father is under audit at the moment. She hasn't had an easy time of it. How was Caroline Percy?"

"Which one was she?"

"Redheaded girl. Not the brightest bulb, unfortunately."

"Oh the whiney one."

"Yes, that would be her. Did she get through it alright? She tends to be a little slower on the uptake and gets rather anxious when she feels like she's falling behind," Emily asked with concern.

"Yes, Mom, even whiney Caroline learned how to foxtrot. She had wanted to know what it was supposed to look like with a partner, but Dad came and demonstrated, and she was a lot better after that."

Emily growled, "I heard your father came by."

"Yeah, I assumed he went and saw you after he left here." Lorelai paused, not sure whether or not to bring up the incident with Patty. "Did he tell you…"

"That the dance instructor tried to seduce him? Yes, I've been informed."

Lorelai was struck by her mother's cold tone. It was even and terrifying. Lorelai knew that tone very well. It was the one Emily used when Lorelai had done something so awful that Emily just gave up and ended the conversation. If she was using that tone to talk about Richard, nothing good could come of it. Hesitantly, Lorelai said, "It really wasn't all that bad. I don't know what Dad said, but Patty didn't mean anything by it. She's like that with every man, no matter what age or marital status."

"Well that is completely unacceptable."

"Mom, Patty did us both a huge favor by helping out with your class today."

"And I appreciate that, but your father had no business dancing with her if she's like that with everyone!" Emily could feel herself getting worked up all over again. And she'd tried so hard not to.

Lorelai was about to retort something about how ridiculous Emily was being, but she stopped herself. That wouldn't help anyone. Because when had calling Emily's reactions ridiculous ever worked out well? Never. That had never worked. So instead, Lorelai took a deep breath. "Mom, I gotta go check in at The Dragonfly. I'll come by tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine." Emily hung up the phone without any further discussion.

After being hung up on, Lorelai drove to the inn. She checked in with Michel, and since he had everything under control, she went to the kitchen to see Sookie. "Sook, I need coffee, STAT," she announced.

Sookie placed a cup of fresh coffee in her hands within seconds. "How did your dance class go?"

"The class was fine. But my dad showed up to demonstrate good partnering, and we danced together."

"You and your dad danced together? How was that?"

Lorelai smiled, hiding it by taking another sip of coffee. "It was really great. This whole thing since my mom's accident…he and I have been good for like the first time in my life. And I'm learning all this stuff about him and my mom. He's a really good dancer. I mean, I've seen him dance with my mom a million times, and they always look so great, but I don't think I've ever danced with him before."

Sookie beamed, loving how happy her friend was. "That's so nice!"

"Yeah. It is. Or at least it was until Patty cut in."

"That sounds like Patty," Sookie laughed.

"Well, she was being Patty and Dad got all offended and bent out of shape and left, and he told my mother about it and now she's pissed." All Lorelai could do was groan in frustration and drink more coffee.

"You can't let that ruin your nice day, though. You did a nice thing for your mom and I'm sure she appreciates it. She'll get over whatever she's upset about."

"I don't know…she gets weird about stuff like this. One time we were at a bar together and…"

"You were at a bar together?!" Sookie interrupted.

"Not the point. We were at this bar and this guy asked her to dance and I told her she should go for it and have fun, and then after she did, she freaked out, saying she was cheating on Dad and whatever else she came up with in her twisted society brain. Oh! And when they were separated, Mom went out to dinner with that guy, and when my dad saw him talking to her, he rear-ended her car!"

Sookie's eyes went wide. "Yeesh. The Gilmores are a little weird with fidelity stuff."

"Of course they are. Because Richard and Emily can't just have a normal, rational reaction to anything!" Lorelai replied sarcastically.

"Honey, why don't you go relax? Go home and see Luke and Paul Anka, maybe?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'll go see Mom in the morning. I can't deal with them anymore today."


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter Sixteen_

Luke had told Lorelai to calm down. He reminded her that she had wanted to try harder with her parents now. And that would mean having a little more tolerance and maturity in situations like this.

"You can't just be helpful when they're being nice to you. Family is terrible and annoying but no one, family or not, wants someone who's only there when it's convenient. You're an adult and the only thing you can control is how you react to any given situation," he told her.

She watched him have that little rant with a concerned look on her face. "You been reading self-help books again?"

"Hey, I know things, okay?"

"Sure you do," she replied with a patronizing tone.

He stared at his feet for a moment before admitting, "I was talking to April earlier today."

"Ah. See, that makes more sense. That's one wise kid you've got there."

"Yeah, you know how that goes."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I do."

"So anyway, quit being so hard on your parents, I guess. If you want it to be better, you gotta make it better and stop expecting them to take the hint."

"Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to talk about my parents anymore tonight."

He shrugged. "Fine by me. You want to watch a movie or somethin'?"

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm wearing the blue lace."

His eyes went wide. "What are we doin' down here?" He picked her up off the couch and carried her over his shoulder upstairs to the bedroom with Lorelai laughing the entire way.

The next morning, Lorelai went to the diner early to pick up some breakfast for her mother. Because Luke was right; she did have to keep trying if she really did want things to change with her parents.

"Hey Ceasar, did my Dad leave here with a to-go order?" she asked, not wanting to bring more food if Richard had already gotten something for Emily.

"He left early after coffee and toast, but he didn't bring anything with him."

"Okay, great. Then can I get two orders of French toast and two large coffees to go, please?"

Lorelai took the food and coffee to the hospital, and was surprised to find that the room was empty. She backed out of the vacant room and went to the nurses' station.

"Hi, do you know where Emily Gilmore is? Her room is empty. Which seems strange. But if something happened or something or…" She let out a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm rambling. Do you…do you know where my mother is? I brought breakfast for her."

"Lorelai!"

She turned to see her mother coming towards her in the hallway. "Mom! You're walking!"

Emily grimaced at the walker she was clutching for dear life. "Yes, well, it's almost walking."

Nico, standing very closely by, added, "Mrs. Gilmore is doing so well! She stood twice yesterday, and today we tried a few steps, and she just didn't stop!"

"Well, look at you go, Jesse Owens," Lorelai quipped. Emily gave her a disapproving look. "Anyway, Mom, I brought coffee and French toast for us, if you want to have breakfast together."

"I think it's time to take a break, Mrs. Gilmore, okay?" Nico suggested.

Emily nodded. "Fine." She shuffled back to her room, feeling all the more self-conscious now that Lorelai was watching.

Once Emily was settled back in bed and Lorelai had gotten their meal all arranged, there was a noticeable absence. "Hey Mom, where's Dad?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, he left Luke's early this morning. I assumed he'd be here with you. He barely leaves your side."

Emily just shrugged and ate her breakfast in silence. Lorelai could tell she'd get nowhere this way. But where was her dad?

A moment later, her cellphone rang. "It's the inn. I'll be right back." Lorelai took the phone into the hallway so as to not disturb her mother. "Hello?"

"Your father wants to see you," a disdainful French accent said simply.

Lorelai was confused. "What?'

"He is here, and he is looking for you, and you are not here, so I said I would call you," Michel explained, clearly annoyed.

"I'm at the hospital with my mother. Why is he at the inn?"

"Do you want me to ask him?" Michel's tone made it clear that he did _not_ want to ask Richard why he was at the inn.

Lorelai sighed. "No, just put him on the phone." There was some rustling, and a few seconds later, Richard answered. "Dad, what are you doing there?"

"I came to see you, Lorelai. We left things rather abruptly yesterday, and I wanted to apologize for my rudeness in leaving your students in the middle of their lesson."

"Oh, that's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm with Mom right now. Come on over and we can all do…something."

"No, I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why not?"

"I don't think your mother wants to see me."

"What? Why?"

"I spoke to her about what happened at the dance studio and she told me to leave. I didn't want to intrude," Richard informed her.

"Oh. Well, okay then. I'll see you around, I guess. I'll be by the inn later, so we can have lunch together, if you want."

"That would be very nice. I will see you for lunch."

Lorelai hung up and gathered her thoughts before returning to her mother. This was an unexpected turn of events.

"Your food is probably cold, Lorelai," Emily scolded. "What was so important that you couldn't sit here and eat your breakfast."

"That was Dad, actually. He was looking for me. He didn't want to come here because you asked him to leave yesterday. I guess he didn't want to bother you."

Emily's entire expression turned from slight annoyance to complete indignation. "That's outrageous! He's avoiding me because _he_ got felt up by a dance teacher?" She began muttering to herself. "Well, that's just typical. Abandoning me in a damn hospital. I'm bedridden and he's just going to avoid me. Well that's just fine."

"He's not abandoning you, Mom," Lorelai said calmly. "He wants to be here. But he doesn't want you to be mad at him."

"I'll be mad at him if I want to be!"

"You're getting a little crazy here."

"I am not getting crazy! I'm recovering from spinal surgery! I can barely stand, and I can't take a single step unassisted. I have things to do that cannot wait, but instead, I am trapped here all alone, because my husband is abandoning me _again_!"

"You're the one who told him to leave!"

"Of course, you always take his side. That's just perfect."

Lorelai could feel herself getting mad. She was getting mad because she was hurt and annoyed at her mother's rather predictable attitude. She opened her mouth to start shouting about how she wasn't taking sides, but she heard Luke's steady voice in her head. _The only thing you can control is how you react to any given situation_. So instead, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Mom, I am not taking anyone's side. But you know what? You are not alone. Because I'm here. And I'm going to be here for anything you need until you can do things for yourself."

Emily was taken aback by Lorelai's tone. She'd been expecting a fight culminating with her daughter storming out, leaving Emily feeling utterly rotten. But that wasn't what happened at all.

When Emily didn't respond, Lorelai had to hide her triumphant grin. "Drink your coffee, Mom."


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter Seventeen_

"Lorelai, before I forget, I signed all those contracts you picked up for me," Emily said suddenly.

After a brief hesitation, Lorelai asked, "Do you want me to return them for you?"

Emily also paused before responding, "I would really appreciate that. If you have the time, of course. You have the inn and I know Hartford isn't exactly convenient."

Lorelai had to laugh. She began giggling uncontrollably.

Her mother frowned. "What's so funny?"

"This is so awkward! We are trying so hard to be nice to each other and it's so hard!" she laughed hysterically.

"I shouldn't try to be nice to my daughter when she does me favors?" Emily asked incredulously.

"You never have before," Lorelai replied, catching her breath.

"The very same could be said for you," Emily bit back.

"That isn't a criticism, I swear!" Lorelai defended. "I just…" She took a deep breath and tried to get her heart to stop pounding. She shouldn't be this afraid to be honest with her own mother. But then again, this was still Emily Gilmore. "Dad said something while we were waiting for you in surgery that really hit me. That our relationship has been frozen since the day I left with Rory. That we still relate to each other like a rebellious teenager and her controlling mother. No offense."

Emily rolled her eyes at the description. "He's told me that more than once, too."

"I want us to be better, Mom. I almost lost you the other day. I've never felt like that before. I'm not saying that we're going to best friends like me and Rory, but I don't want to feel dread every time we see each other."

"Well thank you very much."

"And I don't want to annoy you all the time. Not that I can guarantee that I'm not going to annoy you ever. I've heard I'm a very annoying person. Luke tells me to 'shut it' at least once a day. But you know what I mean."

Emily softened, feeling hope well up within her. "I would like that very much."

"So we try harder? To be nice and considerate of one another? I offer to help you, and you stop assuming that I can just drop everything for you at a moment's notice?"

"In the spirit of this moment, I won't comment on that characterization of me, but yes. We try harder. And hopefully it won't be so stilted and awkward in the future."

Lorelai nodded with a smile. "Okay. That sounds good. I should get going to Hartford. I'm meeting Dad for lunch later." She collected the envelopes she had to return and stood up to leave.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Thank you."

Feeling warm and fuzzy inside for possibly the first time in her entire life in dealing with Emily, Lorelai went about her errands. The DAR contract for the new mental health wing of the veteran's hospital was delivered. Mitzy Lightfoot wasn't there. Thank goodness. Lorelai had no intent on being civil with that woman ever again. The Symphony Board accepted the contracts for the school in Uganda without much conversation. And the Horticultural Society took the plan Emily had approved for the vegetable garden for the homeless shelter.

On the way back from Hartford, Lorelai used the time to call Rory. Miraculously, Rory picked up on the first ring.

"Hi Mom! Perfect timing!"

"Yeah?" Lorelai was excited by her luck. For once, she hadn't called Rory when it was inconvenient. They could finally have an entire conversation.

"Yeah, we're having lunch before we get back on the press bus. Most people are working on drafts about the rally we just left."

"How was the rally?"

"Amazing!" Rory gushed. "Senator Obama is a great public speaker. We're in Philadelphia now."

"I thought you were in Iowa?"

"That was last week. We stopped in Chicago and at Notre Dame University and then we were in Toledo and Akron and we've been in Pennsylvania since yesterday morning. We did Pittsburgh and Hershey."

"Did you get me chocolate?" Lorelai interrupted excitedly.

"I had it shipped right from the town. It should arrive in a couple days," Rory informed her.

"Perfect. So now you're in Philly?"

"Yep. And guess who showed up at the rally?"

"Benjamin Franklin?"

"Jess."

"Wow. How was that?"

"Really good, actually. He was there with his new girlfriend. She's an activist working for a nonprofit charity. They met when her office partnered with Jess's publishing company to donate books to a children's shelter."

"Was she nice?"

"Really nice. Really smart and really pretty. She's black, looks a lot like Halle Berry."

"That's great."

"Yeah, Jess seemed really happy," Rory replied with a smile.

"Good. And you're good?"

"I'm completely over him, I promise. But he's Luke's nephew, and with everything he and I went through, I'm always going to care about him being happy. He's got his life and I've got mine, and that's for the best."

Lorelai was so proud. "Look at you all mature about the situation."

"Enough about me. How's Grandma?"

"She's doing a lot better. She started walking today."

"Oh wow that's so fast!"

"Nothing keeps Emily Gilmore down for long," Lorelai pointed out.

"Very true. And Grandpa? I'm sure he's better now that Grandma's okay."

"Well, sorta."

"What happened?"

Lorelai sighed and explained what had happened with Miss Patty. "And Dad just freaked out! He got all angry when I told him it wasn't a big deal. He didn't do anything wrong. And Patty's bark is worse than her bite."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," Rory pointed out. "You have to consider it from his side. A woman tries to seduce him in front of a bunch of people while his wife is in the hospital and he's already been freaking out about that? And I'm sure he's still not over the Pennilyn Lott stuff that Grandma got so upset about, or when she just had dinner with Simon McLane. Both he and Grandma have proved to be a little nutty about fidelity and stuff. And," she continued, "you downplaying the situation probably made him feel like you were trying to ignore his feelings and he probably took it as a distinct lack of compassion on your part."

"How do you come up with these things?"

"I know them pretty well, Mom. And I took that one Psychology class at Yale."

Lorelai grumbled, "So what you're saying is that I need to be more sensitive to the insanity?"

"Just give in to the insanity. It's better for everyone that way."

"Yeah, I'll try. But listen, I'm almost at the inn, so I gotta go."

"Me too. Gotta finish this draft before we leave."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Lorelai drove the last mile to the inn in silence, contemplating what Rory had said and trying to come up with a plan to deal with her father.

She arrived at The Dragonfly just in time for lunch. Michel gave a sigh of relief when he saw Lorelai arrive. "Thank god. Your father is insufferable. He's been asking me for financial newspapers all day. And when he isn't reading the newspaper in the library, he's using my computer to check his email and type very slow responses.

"He's taking time off to be with my mom. He's gotta check in on things," Lorelai explained.

"If he is supposed to be with your mother, why is he here and not with her?" Michel complained.

"I'm working on it, Michel," she assured him.


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter Eighteen_

Sookie went all out for Lorelai and Richard's lunch. They were inundated with course after course of creative and delicious food. They spent so much time eating that they barely spoke through the meal.

Lorelai had to take a break between the smoked salmon and the gazpacho. "Dad?"

Richard wiped his mouth on his napkin and took a sip of iced tea. "Yes, Lorelai?"

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday. You were upset and I disregarded that, which wasn't a good way to handle the situation."

He was surprised to hear her say such things. "My goodness."

"What?"

"I suppose I'm just not used to you admitting you were in the wrong."

"Hey, I'm trying here. With you and with Mom. So your mocking isn't helpful to my efforts," she retorted.

"You're right. I accept your apology, Lorelai. And I want to apologize for storming off as I did. I was upset, yes, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you or your students. But especially you."

She smiled softly. "Thanks. So we're good now?"

"You and I are, yes. But as for your mother…"

"She said you're abandoning her," Lorelai told him with awkward hesitation.

Richard sighed, "Oh dear. I should have anticipated this. She doesn't like being helpless when she's upset. She usually throws herself into whatever she needs to do in order to distract from any unpleasant feelings."

"Like spending half a million dollars at the mall when you grow a mustache?"

"Or renting an enormous SUV with dark tinted windows when she can't see and I'm away on business."

Lorelai laughed, "Oh yeah. That time I drove Jay-Z's car."

"Or trying to buy a plane when Rory moves out."

"Timeshare a plane," Lorelai corrected. "Jeez, she's sure got a pattern."

"I can't imagine she's doing at all well lying in that bed all day alone after our marriage has been threatened."

"I don't know if your marriage has really been _threatened_ , Dad."

Richard scoffed, "I quite agree, but who are we to tell your mother how to feel about the situation?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "So you'll go see Mom later?"

He sighed, "Yes, I suppose I should, regardless of what mood she might be in."

They continued their decadent lunch without any more conversation on the matter. Richard was purposefully eating slowly in order to delay inevitably seeing his wife in her bad mood. But he had to face her eventually. So after bidding his daughter a fond farewell and thanking Michel for his assistance throughout the day, he headed back to Litchfield Hospital.

Emily was on her second round of physical therapy that day with Nico. The nurse was starting to annoy her less. His constant praise of her abilities—regardless of how basic those abilities were—did make her feel better. She knew she was making progress. And anything that would get her out of the hospital and back to her life was something she would work at.

So here she was, slowly walking laps around the recovery ward. She had her slippers and robe from home, so at least she didn't have to feel too uncomfortable having anyone see her. Her hair was a mess, but at least she could do a little makeup to make her feel more normal. And she was walking. With an ugly walker that made her feel as though she were a decrepit old woman, but it was walking nonetheless.

"Mrs. Gilmore, we'll go back to your room now, okay?" Nico suggested.

"One more lap," she insisted.

"Mrs. Gilmore, don't push yourself too much. You get overtired and you fall and ruin all your progress and then you stay here much longer. No one wants that."

Emily knew he was right. She didn't like it, but she knew he was right. She was starting to get a little winded.

When they arrived back at the room, Nico had her remain standing while he showed her some stretches she could do to improve the strength and flexibility in her back. She did just as she was told, despite how silly it made her feel. But Emily had to admit, the stretching did feel nice. She was almost pain-free and being weaned off the opiates. The only discomfort now came from the stitches in her back.

Emily had her arms stretched above her head, lengthening her core muscles, when she and Nico were interrupted.

"I do like coming in to see you up and out of bed," Richard said upon entering.

"Soon, she will only be in bed to sleep," Nico informed him. "Mrs. Gilmore is recovering very fast. And she still moves very gracefully."

"Yes, she's always been incredibly graceful and elegant in everything she does," Richard said softly, his eyes twinkling at her affectionately.

Emily saw that look on his face and felt her stomach tighten into knots. "Nico, could you leave us, please?"

"You want to get back into bed first, Mrs. Gilmore?"

"No, I'll be fine. I can do it myself."

"Okay. I'll be around if you need me." With that, Nico walked past Richard and left the Gilmores alone.

"Would you like to sit down?" Richard asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'd prefer to stand if that's alright." There was an awkward pause between them. "So? Did you come here for any particular reason, or do you want to just stand there?"

"I had lunch with Lorelai, and she told me that you said I'm abandoning you here. I hoped that my presence would disabuse you of that belief."

Emily glared at him, displeased at his haughty tone. "I know you aren't. But I was upset," she replied, her voice small and her gaze at the floor.

"I wish I hadn't upset you." Richard took a small step closer to her, testing the boundary between them.

She looked up. "I know it isn't your fault, Richard. And I am glad you told me. But there was nothing I could do about the situation!"

"And I know how you hate that," he replied with a small smile.

"Yes, I do," she said quietly. She searched his face, waiting for a sign from him.

Richard knew that expression well. She was afraid. Afraid and insecure. So unlike his Emily, usually so strong and self-assured. She dealt with fear by pushing it away and pressing forward. But sometimes she couldn't do that. And now was one of those times. He tried to reassure her. "I have no intention of going anywhere near that Miss Patty woman ever again. Nor do I have any intention of ever letting you feel alone like this ever again."

She frowned. "But you can't be here all the time."

"In a few more days, we'll both be home and everything will return to normal." He opened his arms to her, letting her lean forward ever so slightly into his embrace.

Emily sighed into his chest, clutching the lapels of his jacket and breathing in his familiar scent. He was holding her very delicately so he wouldn't hurt her, which was very considerate. But she resented it ever so slightly. She was fragile and she hated it. She leaned up to look into his eyes. "You're wonderful, Richard," she said softly.

"I am only wonderful for you, Emily. For you are my everything." He kissed her softly.

But Emily was in no mood to be kissed softly. She pulled him closer and kissed him back ardently, moving her lips fervently against his. Richard was lost in the moment, moaning against her mouth and holding her tighter. Emily started to feel dizzy from the kiss but allowed Richard's strong presence to keep her upright. Eventually, however, his embrace became crushing. Normally she would enjoy it, but normally she didn't have stitches in her back and screws in her spine. Emily had to pull away slightly.

"Oh, did I hurt you?" he asked, immediately unhanding her.

"Only a little," she replied breathlessly. She was smiling, despite the discomfort.

He gave her a few soft pecks. "I'm sorry. I lost myself a little there."

"I could tell."

"I've missed you."

"I'm glad. I've missed you, too."

Richard took a cleansing breath to calm his lust for his wife. "Now then, I read in the newspaper that one of the local television stations is doing a marathon of Katharine Hepburn movies. Would you like to see what's on?"

"Alright," Emily agreed with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter Nineteen_

That night, Richard had to be asked to leave by the hospital staff. He was so enjoying his time with Emily. They very rarely watched movies together, but they had a wonderful time. He returned to Luke's feeling encouraged and happy after he kissed his wife goodbye.

To his surprise, Luke was waiting in the diner when Richard arrived. "Luke, how nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you, too, Richard. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Beer?"

Richard noticed the way the man seemed to fidget slightly. "I think a beer. Thank you."

Luke brought out two beers and opened them. "I was hoping I could join you…" They sat at one of the tables in the diner as Luke handed Richard a beer.

"Of course, please do." Richard tapped the neck of his bottle to Luke's. "Cheers." They each took a sip. "Luke, you look like you want to say something."

"Yeah, I do. And I hope it's okay. It sorta seems like a good time but I don't really know."

"Why don't you just tell me, and we can evaluate from there," Richard suggested.

"Sure. Uh, okay. Well, things with me and Lorelai have been going really good. I know we were apart for a long time and we just got back together a couple months ago, right before Rory left. And we're pretty much back to where we were before everything went to hell. But better. I'm trying to communicate better or whatever." Luke took another swig of beer, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. "So I was thinking that maybe we could get married. We were going to and then we didn't, but I know she always wanted to, and I wanted to, and…aw hell, I don't know."

Richard took pity on the boy. "If you'd like the opinion of a man who admittedly doesn't know his daughter as well as he should—not yet anyway—I'd guess that Lorelai would very much like to marry you. She and Christopher stupidly rushed into it, as she and Christopher often have in the past, but that was never what she really wanted. She married him because everyone has told her for the last twenty years that she was supposed to. But with you, Luke, she was so looking forward to getting married. She made plans. I don't know if she ever told you, but Emily and I had plans of buying a house for the two of you here in Stars Hollow."

Luke's eyes went wide. "No, she never told me. Wow, that's so nice of you."

"Well, she wouldn't let us help with any of the wedding expenses, so we thought it was the least we could do."

"That's really great. Though I don't know if Lorelai wants to move. We almost did one time, but ended up fixing up her house instead."

"Nevertheless, Luke, my daughter is a special woman who deserves someone who can give her the world. Admittedly, we did not think that would be you. But as we all saw with Christopher, good breeding and social standing do not always bring the things one might expect. You have always been there whenever Lorelai or Rory have needed someone, and Emily and I know that. And at the end of the day, that is what matters."

"Thank you, Richard. I haven't talked to Lorelai about it yet. But the first time, she proposed to me when she and Rory weren't speaking. Now, I know Lorelai's never been the most traditional girl, but her asking me and her and Rory being on the outs, that wasn't the way it should be. I want to do it right this time. I'm not a 'grand gestures' kind of guy, but I should ask her and make it special. And so part of me doing it right this time is asking for your blessing."

Richard was taken aback. He should have expected that, as it was the expected thing to do, but it was unexpected in that moment. "My blessing?"

"Yeah, that's a thing, right? You ask the girl's father for his blessing to marry his daughter? I know it's tied to a dowry and women as property and all kinda crap like that, but the sentiment is more about respect or whatever, right?"

"Yes, I suppose it is," Richard replied with a chuckle. "And you have my blessing, Luke. I can't speak for Lorelai—though it's taken me this long to figure that out—but I do believe that if you ask her, she will say yes. I certainly hope she does. I know you will make her very happy."

Luke nodded. "Thank you. I'm really gonna try." He took another sip of beer, relieved that this had gone well.

Richard leaned back in the chair and drank his beer as well. He smiled to himself and remembered aloud, "It feels like yesterday that I asked Emily's father for her hand in marriage."

"Yeah?" Luke was strangely interested in this story.

"You may have heard that I was engaged to another woman before I met Emily."

"Pennilyn Lott?"

"Yes. But she and I had known each other for many, many years. Our families had agreed on our marriage. I didn't have to ask Mr. Lott. But when I broke our engagement because of Emily, I knew I had to make sure all that pain we caused wasn't for nothing. I think I knew I wanted to marry Emily the moment I met her. Her parents adored me, which was rather kind of them. Emily was never particularly close with her family. Her father was always very cold to her, and her mother was a very shrill, demanding sort of woman. Emily once told me that after she brought me home, her parents suddenly liked her much better. Unfortunately, the opposite was true for my parents."

"That must have been hard," Luke sympathized.

"It was. Much more for Emily than it was for me. I should have been more sensitive to that." Richard sighed, "Emily has always been stronger than me. I never gave her enough credit."

"So her father obviously gave you his blessing."

Richard chuckled. "Oh yes he did. I phoned the house one weekend, asking if I could meet Mr. Ashford for drink at his home. I was just as nervous to speak to him as you were right now. Perhaps more so. Because I know that even if I disapproved of you and Lorelai, you two would still be together. If Mr. Ashford didn't want me to marry his daughter, I never would have seen her again. Thankfully, he was ecstatic at the idea. Gave me a cigar and the oldest scotch I've ever tasted." He smiled at the memory. "The Ashfords were always very gracious and kind to me. I was a very good prospect for marriage, as my family has always been very prominent in this area. But I do think Emily was right in saying that they liked her better once she brought me home?"

"Really?" Luke asked skeptically.

"Believe it or not, Luke, Emily has always been a very difficult woman. She knows all the right ways to do things, and she always looks perfect for any social function. She has the most impeccable manners. But she is opinionated and argumentative. Which is not what a society debutante is supposed to be. I will say, it's what made me fall in love with her. That inner strength is something that is rarely seen in women in my social circle. And I like to think that I've been able to keep up with her rather well over the years. We complement each other. And the Ashfords saw that. Emily was probably calmer and happier with me, which in turn made her more pleasant in public and with her family. Because as soon as we were alone, she would rant about whatever had annoyed her. I love hearing whatever vicious barb she's kept to herself, saving for me to hear," he laughed.

Luke smiled. "You guys are really good together."

"So are you and Lorelai. You take care of her without making her feel like she's being taken care of. You don't control her or tie her down. And she makes you better," Richard noted wisely.

"Yes, she does." Luke tipped his head back to get the last swallow of beer from the bottle. "I'm glad I talked to you, Richard."

"As am I, Luke."

"I wasn't sure, because Lorelai usually wouldn't like it if I spent time with her parents without her around. But you two have been better lately. I know she's really trying for things to be better between you guys."

Richard nodded. "She is trying. The effort has not gone unnoticed. And I hope she knows that I've been trying, too. While we waited for Emily to get out of surgery, I realized that I've spent far too much time disparaging my own daughter, trying to make her into what I wanted her to be. But that isn't Lorelai. She's got her mother's strong will and sense of humor, and she's got my creative mind and unfortunate selfish attitude. And that's made her into exactly the kind of person she is. I should have known better. Neither Emily nor I were ever the kind of people our parents expected us to be." He chuckled, never having formed the words out loud. "I don't know why we didn't see it before. Emily and I have always been independent people. We did everything in our own ways, as independent people who thankfully found each other. Lorelai inherited both our free spirits. No wonder she grew up as her own very own person."

"I think that makes a lot of sense. But if you told her, she'd never believe it."

"No, I suppose she wouldn't. Though she is our child, I promise you. She's tried to convince people before that she isn't."

"Nah, you're right. She's got your eyes and Emily's mouth. Both the shape of it and the…uh…attitude."

Richard began to laugh quite heartily. "Luke, I hope you don't mind if I tell Emily that when I see her tomorrow."

"Go ahead. It's true."

"It certainly is. Now, it's gotten rather late, and I know you wake very early to open this fine establishment."

"Yeah, and I should let you get to sleep. Is there anything you need upstairs, since I'm here?"

"No, everything has been just fine. I appreciate the use of your apartment." They both stood up. Luke cleared the bottles away. Before he left, Richard shook his hand. "If there is anything I can do to help with your proposal plans, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, Richard."

Luke put the chairs atop the table. Richard was already upstairs when he turned out the lights and locked the diner doors.


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter Twenty_

The Gilmores received an unexpected development the next morning. Due to her success in rehabilitation, Emily was discharged from the hospital that afternoon. Dr. White agreed to send Emily's medical records to her regular doctor in Hartford so she could have her checkups closer to home.

Richard was ecstatic. It was so hard to be stuck in Stars Hollow and Litchfield for the last few days. It hadn't even been a whole week, but he wanted to go home. He wanted to go home with his wife.

Emily couldn't leave fast enough. Getting dressed in her own clothes, finally, had been something of a struggle, but she had managed. She tried to insist on walking out to the car, but hospital policy forced her to be in the wheelchair until they reached the curb. Richard drove her home in his Jaguar. Sitting in the car was mildly uncomfortable due to the way the soft leather seat happened to rub against her stitches. But there wasn't anything she could do about that. She was just happy to be going home. She'd get to go to her doctor in a few days to get the stitches removed, and everything would go back to normal.

When they arrived home, Richard helped her walk into the house. "Are you sure you don't want to use the walker? The hospital did give it to you to keep."

"No, I will not use that horrible thing in my house. Don't even take it out of the car. Just send it straight to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or something," Emily demanded.

"If you won't use that, how about a cane? I'm sure we have an old one in the basement somewhere." Richard paused at the front door so he could unlock and open it for her.

Emily clung to his arm. "You would have no idea where in the basement it would be, and I have no intention of looking. I will _not_ use a cane."

"Why not?"

"Your mother used a cane," she said simply.

"Ah, I see." No further response was needed. He opened the front door and helped lead her inside.

"Richard, why is it so stuffy in here? Didn't you tell the maid we'd be coming home? She should have turned on the air!" Emily complained.

"No, Emily, I didn't have a chance to contact her. I'll adjust the thermostat in a minute. Let's get you upstairs to bed first," he suggested.

"I'm fine, Richard. I don't need to go up to bed," she insisted. "Go take care of the air. I'm going to call the maid right now." She let go of his arm and walked—slowly—to the living room to get the phone. Richard kept his eye on her but did as she asked.

He returned to the living room a moment later. "The thermostat is all set," he informed her.

"Good. Karina is on her way over. Apparently she came early this morning to take care of the plants but didn't stay after the mail arrived just before lunchtime. Now I suppose I'll go through the mail. I know it's only been five days but you never know what might have arrived that needs a timely reply," she said with a sigh.

"I can help with that," Richard offered.

"No, Richard, you've done far too much already. You have work to do, I'm sure. Floyd can't be happy that you've neglected the business. And don't you have essays you're supposed to be grading?"

He paused, considering what she said. "Well, I suppose I do…but I can't leave you here alone! You just got home from the hospital!"

"I'm fine! You see me standing, walking, doing everything I need to do?"

"Yes…"

"Yes. I'm fine. And I'll be even better if I know you're off making a living to support this family," she added teasingly.

He chuckled. "Alright, Emily, I shall go into work. But I will wait until the maid arrives. Regardless of how you say you are, I will not leave you all by yourself right after arriving home from the hospital."

"Fine. But I'll just be sitting here, going through the mail."

Richard smiled and kissed her temple before heading into upstairs to change his clothes. He'd been dressed casually for what he had thought would be a day with Emily at the hospital, but if he was going into the office, he would need to change into a suit. When he came back down, he found Emily ordering the maid around, just as she always did. He smiled at this return to normalcy.

"And as soon as the upstairs has been aired out, make sure you go to the grocery store. I'm sure there isn't an ounce of food in this house." Emily paused for a breath and saw Richard enter. "Ah, and what would you like for dinner tonight? I was thinking pork chops."

"That sounds fine. I'll be home in plenty of time. I just have some things to check in on, some calls to return, I'm sure."

"Take your time. Nothing much happening here," she replied.

Richard bent down to where she was sitting at the writing desk and kissed her cheek. "Call me if you need _anything_."

"I'll be fine!"

"I know, but just in case. I wouldn't want you to inhibit your recovery in any way. And you are still recovering, Emily, so don't try to do too much," he warned. And with one more kiss, he left. He caught the maid on his way out and instructed her to call him if Mrs. Gilmore needed anything and to keep an eye on her.

After Richard left, Emily sent Karina out to do the shopping for dinner. She changed her mind about the pork chops. Richard hadn't seemed too invested in what they ate, so she decided on spaghetti instead.

Emily found herself truly alone for the first time in days. The house was quiet, only the ticking clock interrupting the silence. She smiled. Everything would be fine now. She was home. Everything was the way it was supposed to be.

After a moment, however, Emily remembered that there were a million things that needed doing. She had gone through the mail and made note of things the maid needed to do downstairs. She knew it was time to go upstairs. She had been purposefully avoiding it. She'd only been walking for two days. And she still wasn't very confident walking without something to hold onto. She hadn't tried stairs yet, and she wasn't sure that her body was really ready for that yet. But she had things to put away upstairs, all the things Lorelai had brought to the hospital. And despite her apprehensions, Emily desperately wanted a return to normalcy. Normalcy meant going upstairs so she could fix her hair and change her clothes. And she was going to get upstairs by herself.

Now that the house was empty, she could take her time. She certainly didn't want the maid to watch her struggle up the stairs, and she just couldn't bring herself to ask Richard to help her. She had spent over forty years taking care of him. He provided for the household and she took care of the household. That was their partnership. She had taken on his role as best she could during his recovery from the heart attack the previous year, and she'd hated it. And he had hated it too, once he realized what was happening. She never wanted that again. Emily would hold up her end, no matter what.

And so she tentatively made her way to the stairs. It was a strange sensation. She wasn't in pain per se. But her limbs just wouldn't move the way they were supposed to. It was as though her whole body was a machine in desperate need of oiling. Nico had shown her all those stretches for this very reason. At her age, getting things back the way they were supposed to be was no easy feat.

With her left hand clutching the banister, Emily lifted her right foot up enough to place it on the first step. Balancing as best she could, she pulled her left foot up to join her right. She moved her hand up the banister a few inches and repeated the process. After three steps, she needed both hands on the banister. She was just too wobbly. After another four steps, Emily was utterly exhausted. Which was completely ridiculous. She couldn't believe she'd gotten winded after not even one flight of stairs. It took everything in her, with heart pounding and breath panting, to reach the landing.

"Mrs. Gilmore, is there anything I can do?"

Emily heard Karina's voice but did not have the energy to even turn her head. Her heart began to pound for an altogether different reason. "Go make dinner," she commanded.

"But it's only three o'clock."

"Then clean something. I don't care what you do." Emily was quickly feeling panic overtake her.

"Should I help you upstairs?"

And that was exactly the wrong thing for the maid to say. "You're fired. Get out of my house this instant!" Emily felt her voice shake and the tears prick her eyes. She was still frozen at the top of the landing, hanging onto the banister.

"Mrs. Gilmore?"

"Out!" Her voice cracked this time, but there was nothing Emily could do. She was stuck where she was, helpless and embarrassed and useless.

Emily didn't know what to do. Her knees were shaking so she let them buckle and she crumpled to the floor. She felt a twinge in her back—the movement had pulled at the stitches. Emily dropped her face in her hands and cried.

Richard rushed into the house. "Emily?" The only response was a strained cry. He followed the sound and saw her on the landing of the staircase. "Emily!"

By the time Richard found her, Emily was in full hysterics. Her breath was hitched and she had been crying for who knows how long. "What are you doing here?" she asked through her sobs.

He sat on the floor beside his wife and took her in his arms. "The maid called me. She said she returned home from buying groceries and saw you on the stairs and you fired her."

"I did," Emily confirmed, her voice muffled against Richard's chest.

"That's fine. She's gone now. I'm just glad she called me. What happened?"

"I tried to go upstairs and this is as far as I could get," she explained. The reality of that statement upset her all over again. A new round of tears started.

"Shhhh, it's alright. I didn't even think about the stairs. You only started walking again yesterday. I should have insisted on helping you," Richard said, scolding himself aloud.

"I thought I could do it. But I can't. I can't do anything."

He stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. "That isn't true, Emily. You're still recovering. You have to give yourself time to heal," he insisted.

Emily didn't say anything. She didn't want to say anything. She didn't want him to know how upset she was, though that seemed a silly goal now, as he held her in his arms as she cried.

Richard stayed quiet, comforting her with just his presence. It must have done at least _some_ good, as she soon stopped crying. "Would you like to go upstairs now?" He felt her nod against his chest. "Alright. Hold onto my hands so you can stand up. I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be, so I don't think I can carry you up the stairs like I used to."

She smiled ever so slightly, remembering how he did used to sweep her off her feet and carry her upstairs to their bed.

Very, very slowly, Emily made it upstairs. Richard held her tightly, and she felt safe with him there. Humiliated and weak and ashamed of herself, but safe. Thank god he was there.

They went into the bedroom. Emily sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders slumped with defeat. Richard wordlessly removed her shoes and sweater and put them in the walk-in closet.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Richard tucked Emily into bed and kissed her forehead before going down to see who it was.


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter Twenty-One_

"Richard, hello! I'm surprised to see you at home in the middle of the day."

Emily could hear the voice at the front door echo all the way to the bedroom. And she felt a cold vice grip on her insides.

"I'm here helping Emily," Richard replied simply, knowing better than to divulge private information.

"Oh I do hope she's feeling better. I know how busy she is, planning the DAR induction luncheon, preparing all those girls for the debutante ball, and all those other charities she works with."

"She's feeling much better. I know she's happy to be home and catching up on things."

"Has she fallen behind? That's not like Emily. Though a stint in the hospital is sure to delay things. I would be happy to help out with anything she needs."

Richard's polite smile faltered. "Why don't you have a seat in the living room," he suggested. "Our maid is out at the moment, unfortunately. Can I get you a glass of water, perhaps?"

"No, I'm fine, Richard."

"I'll just go ask Emily if there is anything you can help with." He hurried upstairs. He closed the bedroom door behind him so their voices wouldn't carry. "Mitzy Lightfoot is here," he informed her.

"I know. I could hear that high-pitched, simpering, stupid voice of hers," Emily replied bitterly. "I cannot believe she just showed up here! She couldn't have known that I'm home."

"I don't think she was expecting us to be here. She looked shocked when I opened the door."

"Oh yes, I'm sure those beady eyes of hers went wide. And that fat chin wobbled and dropped open, didn't it?"

Richard had to laugh a little. "Emily, you are positively vicious!" he commended.

She growled, "That woman is obnoxious and devious and absolutely awful. I bet she wanted to try to get information out of the maid. I'm sure she was positively delighted to see someone who actually had information about me."

"I tried not to let on anything about your condition."

"I heard. Thank you."

He paused a beat. "Emily, she's downstairs."

"Get rid of her."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't care, Richard, just get that woman out of my house!" Emily was practically begging. This was all too much at once. She couldn't walk. She couldn't defend herself. She couldn't possibly handle any of the million things she was responsible for. She had just finished sobbing on the stairs, and now she could feel the panic returning. "She can't be here. Get her out!"

Richard patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I'll do what I can. I can't just throw her out. She'd get suspicious."

"I don't care what you do! I need her out! Get her out of my house!" Even Emily heard the hysterical note in her voice.

After assuring her that he would do his best, Richard went back downstairs. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Mitzy. Emily is incredibly busy at the moment. I'm afraid you caught us at a rather inconvenient time."

"I'm so sorry, I should have called before coming over," Mitzy said in feigned apology.

"Yes, you should have. But here you are," Richard retorted with an equally false smile. He gestured to the door. "I'm sorry Emily can't see you right now. She has everything under control, but she wanted me to pass on her gratitude for your generous offer to help."

"Oh it is my pleasure. You tell Emily to call me if she need _anything_. And I hope to see her around the DAR office soon," Mitzy replied, following Richard to the foyer.

"Mhmm. You give Howard our best."

And with that final pleasantry, Richard slammed the enormous front door closed behind her. He wiped his hands of the situation with a smirk. He thought he'd taken care of that quite nicely. "Emily, she's gone!" he called, climbing back up the stairs to see her.

"Good."

Richard was surprised to hear her voice sound weak and feeble like that. She'd just been practically yelling at him to throw Mitzy Lightfoot out of the house. "Emily?"

Her gaze was unfocused. Her brow was knitted together with concern. She didn't answer him.

"Emily, are you alright?"

She blinked a few times before looking at him. "I'd like to take a shower."

"Alright. Let me help you."

Emily resigned herself to accepting Richard's assistance. He helped her walk to the bathroom and get the shower started. She was capable of disrobing and showering by herself. But she did ask him to get her silk pajamas out for her to change into. He did as she asked and tried to put things away as best he could while she was in the bathroom. There were some things that he didn't know what to do with, so he just left them in the bag that Lorelai had taken them in.

The bathroom door opened, and Emily emerged with a towel wrapped around her hair and a robe over her pajamas. She wordlessly walked past Richard, removed the robe, and carefully got back into bed.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked.

"No," she murmured.

"Shall I come get you for dinner?" He also realized that there was no one to cook dinner.

"No," she repeated, just as deflated as before.

Richard frowned but didn't comment. He leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Just rest, my dear."

Emily closed her eyes. A calm washed over her. It was a strange feeling, but once she accepted that there was absolutely nothing she could do, it didn't seem to matter one way or the other. She could sleep at home in her own bed. That was all she was capable of. So that's what she would do.


	22. Chapter 22

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

Emily remained in bed the rest of the day and all night. She got up periodically to stretch. She could barely walk, but she could feel the stiffness set in if she remained in one position too long, and she was terrified of getting any worse.

It helped to have Richard lying beside her during the night. She didn't sleep one wink, but she could snuggle up against him, concentrating on his steady breathing and the strong beating of his heart. At one point, she gently traced his surgery scar on his chest through his pajamas, thanking their lucky stars that he was still there with her.

The next morning, Richard got up at five thirty with his alarm as he always did. He got dressed for the day, leaving Emily to rest. When he returned from the bathroom, he found her sitting up, watching him.

"Good morning, Emily. How are you feeling?"

She just shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"I called the maid service last night, and they're sending someone new today. Once she arrives, I'll send her up so you can instruct her in whatever way you usually do with the maids. And I was thinking of hiring a nurse to help you with your physical therapy and such."

"No, don't do that," she answered quickly.

"Why not?"

"I've had enough nurses. I know what I need to do."

Richard was skeptical of that answer. "If you say so. But please use the maid for whatever you need. And make sure you eat something. I can bring you some breakfast, if you'd like."

"Maybe just some coffee," she requested quietly.

"Of course. I'll be right back."

After he was gone, Emily stretched her arms and shoulders in bed. Those damn stitches were still very delicate, causing a twinge of discomfort no matter what she did.

Richard returned a little while later with a hot cup of coffee for her.

Emily frowned. "Who made this?" There was no maid in the house, unless the new one had already showed up.

"I made it," he responded proudly.

"Oh. Thank you." She took a sip. "It's very good."

"I'm glad you're enjoying. Now, you let me know when you'd like to get dressed for the day, and I'll be here to help in whatever way I can."

Emily put the coffee cup on top of a book she had sitting on her bedside table—she didn't keep coasters by the bed. "I'm not getting dressed yet."

"That's fine. You just let me know when you're ready."

"Aren't you going to work?"

"No, Emily, it's Saturday."

"Then you'll be going to the club today?"

"I'll be here to greet the maid and do whatever you need. Beyond that, I didn't have any concrete plans."

"Alright." And with that, Emily settled back in bed, closing her eyes once more. She could feel Richard's eyes on her, but she didn't care. He'd surely lose interest in another few moments. Thankfully, the doorbell rang, and Richard went downstairs to answer it.

"Emily, this is Maria, the new maid," he introduced soon thereafter.

"Fine. Tell her what you want to eat and what you want her to clean." Emily didn't even raise her head off the pillow.

Richard shooed the maid for the time being. "Emily, don't you want to give her instructions?"

"No."

"She won't be able to help you if she doesn't know what she's supposed to do," he pointed out.

"Who cares? I'm not getting up."

"You're not?"

"Why would I? Mitzy Lightfoot will surely seize control of the DAR, which she should, since I can't do anything anymore. There isn't anything else that can't survive without me. Which makes sense. Because as you always say, Richard, there's nothing important about anything I do."

Richard wasn't sure if he was more angry or depressed by her words. He couldn't let this happen to her again. He promised her that. But this time, he'd been the cause. It was his fault she had been upset and gone to The Dragonfly and seen the horses. And now she'd lost any motivation to keep pushing for her recovery. It had been a long time since she'd been like this. He never thought he'd see it ever again. He'd _hoped_ he'd never see it again.

So rather than argue with her or try to snap her out of it, Richard left her to her own devices. He went downstairs to his study so he could use the phone without interruption. He dialed the number from memory and waited while it rang.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai, it's your father."

"Hi, my father."

"I know you think you're being funny, but I am not in the mood right now," he replied gruffly.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly. "Didn't know what kind of call this would be. What's wrong?"

"Your mother is in bed."

"Isn't she supposed to be?"

"No. She's supposed to be taking it easy, but we are home now, so she should be…I don't know, making phone calls or writing lists or barking orders at people."

"But instead she's in bed?"

"Yes. Since yesterday afternoon. She tried to climb the stairs alone and couldn't make it, and she was so upset, and then that damned Mitzy Lightfoot showed up, and Emily was just beside herself. She's been in bed ever since."

"Wait, Mitzy Lightfoot came to the house? Did she see Mom?"

"No, thankfully, she didn't. But I know she was suspicious. I think your mother has resigned herself to defeat. Which she shouldn't! There's still plenty she can do, even if she isn't fully self-sufficient yet."

"What should I do?"

"I'm not sure."

"Oh, well usually you call me with instructions of what I'm supposed to do."

"You've already done so much, Lorelai. You need to focus on your life."

Lorelai was taken aback. "Oh. Um. Well, I do want to help, if I can. But I'm kinda swamped at the inn right now, since I wasn't here much last week. We've got a big convention in for the weekend, so I don't know when I'll be able to come to Hartford."

"Don't worry about coming. I just wanted to keep you appraised of the situation."

"I appreciate that."

Richard paused before asking, "Do you have any recommendations of what she might need? I hired a new maid, but I don't know what to ask her to do."

"Did the hospital take Mom's stitches out?"

"No, they come out one week after surgery, Dr. White said."

"Make her an appointment with her regular doctor for Monday. Not having that to deal with that will help. And I guess check her day planner to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Kindly cancel on things she can't do, or reschedule them. If there's anything that can't or shouldn't be move, let me know."

"Very good ideas. Thank you, Lorelai."

Lorelai took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the lingering feelings of worry. "My pleasure, Dad." It was still such a strange change in circumstances to be informed and thanked for things instead of being ordered and guilted into things she didn't want to do.

Over the next three days, Emily willfully refused to get any better. She stayed in bed all the time. She got up to stretch every few hours and to take a shower each day. But then she put on fresh pajamas and got right back into bed. The maid would leave simple meals on a tray by the bed. No one ever saw her eat, but the food was always partially consumed by the time Maria came back to get it. Emily barely spoke. She would respond to direct questions with little to no elaboration. She would allow Richard to get into bed with her each night and allowed him to hold her comfortingly, something she had not done the last time. She also wasn't crying much this time. Richard took that as a good sign.

Dr. Reynolds came first thing Monday morning, doing a house call as a special favor to the Gilmores. Richard greeted him with a firm handshake. "Joshua, thanks so much for coming."

"Anything for you and Emily, Richard. How's she doing?"

"I'll let you be the judge," Richard replied cryptically.

Emily was very cooperative with Dr. Reynolds. She rolled onto her stomach with her back exposed for the doctor to examine her. Richard sat beside her and held her hand as the stitches were removed.

"There we go, Emily. The incisions should heal very nicely. No real risk of infection at this point, but keep everything clean just the same. Are you in any pain?"

"I'm a little stiff, but no pain," she answered in a tired-sounding monotone.

"I'd get a physical therapist in at least once a day to get you back to where you should be. But with a little work, I don't see any reason you won't be as good as new in another few weeks. Nothing unduly strenuous for at least six months, but I don't think you'll be running any marathons any time soon, so don't worry about that," Dr. Reynolds told her.

Emily just nodded. Richard walked the doctor out.

"Joshua, how do I snap her out of this?" Richard asked as soon as they were downstairs.

"I don't know that there's anything you can do. Emily has always been stubborn. Normally, I'd tell the family to get the patient to focus on something they want or need to do. But Emily isn't the type to take suggestions like that. She'll come out of it in her own time. But physically, she'll be just fine. But call me if anything changes or you get worried again."

The two men shook hands and Dr. Reynolds left. Richard immediately called Lorelai to give her the update.

"Okay, so are you going to get a physical therapist?" Lorelai asked, holding her cellphone on her shoulder and she tried to do about eighteen things at once.

"I'll ask her and see what to do from there," Richard replied with a sigh. "How are things going on your end?"

"Good, I think. Michel and Sookie have all of Mom's notes from the early preparations. And we've hosted events for her before. I think the DAR will be very impressed. We have another few weeks, so hopefully Mom can jump in before anything is too finalized, in case we miss something, but I think she'll be happy. Everything we choose, I tell myself that 'fine' isn't good enough, and I put myself in Emily's Pradas and make sure everything is absolutely perfect."

"Thank you for all the work you're doing. I'm happy to compensate for any lost wages or extra materials you need."

"Thanks, but we're fine so far. But Dad, I gotta run. I have to go read at that foster home. Though that one's a little weird."

"She let it slip to me that she likes to read to the children because she never got to with Rory."

Lorelai's heart sunk. "Tell Mom I'll come by tomorrow. I would try to swing by after the reading session, but I have to look at floral designs and then be back at the inn before the horse guy gets there with the new horseshoes."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Call if you need anything."

After he got off the phone, Richard went back up to see Emily.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Joshua suggested a physical therapist. I can make some calls and have someone here this afternoon."

"Why bother? There's nothing worth getting up for."

"You have a shift at the foster home today, from when you rescheduled due to your surgery last week."

"There are plenty of wonderful readers. They don't need me."

He had hoped that mention of the children would elicit some response from her. No luck. "Alright. I have to go into the office. Maria is here if you need anything, and I'll be home the moment I'm called, just in case."

"Go to work, Richard." Emily rolled over and went back to sleep.

As Lorelai drove to the foster home, she thought about calling Rory. But she decided against it. No need to worry Rory until there was a real reason to worry. It had only been a few days. Emily was sure to pull through. But Lorelai and Richard would pick up the slack until she did.

She turned on her best happy face as she parked and walked up to her destination. "Hi, I'm Lorelai Gilmore. I called earlier about filling in for my mother, Emily Gilmore?" she asked the young man at the reception desk.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Gilmore. The kids gather in the library. Mrs. Gilmore usually chooses a few books off the shelves and lets the kids choose what order they want to hear them in. She gets through two or three during the hour."

Lorelai followed the receptionist to the library room, which really only consisted of three bookcases full of tattered children's books. She selected Harold and the Purple Crayon, Where the Wild Things Are, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

"Who are you?"

She turned to find a very small little girl missing her two front teeth staring at her. "I'm Lorelai."

"Where's Mrs. Gilmore?"

"She's not feeling very good today, so I'm here instead. Mrs. Gilmore is my mom."

"Lucky!" another little boy whined.

"Lucky?"

"Mrs. Gilmore does funny voices when she reads. She must be a fun mom."

Lorelai was dumbstruck. "Sure. Okay, funny voices here we come."

The hour went by quickly. The children liked to ask a lot of questions and interrupt a lot. Lorelai couldn't imagine her mother doing this; this was not something Emily would have approved of at all.

When she got home at the end of the very long day, she told Luke all about the insanity she had encountered. "So while we were roaring like the Wild Things, half my brain was trying to picture the eight-inch tapers versus the six-inch tapers and which would look better in the dining room at The Dragonfly. Those kids were really cute though. They seemed to like me but it was _very_ clear that they love Emily. How any child could love Emily is beyond me. You know, I asked them at the end if I did as well as Mrs. Gilmore, as they call her. And you know what the kids told me?"

"What?"

"They told me that it was too noisy with the roaring to pay attention to the story. Mrs. Gilmore doesn't let them interrupt or talk or whisper while she reads, so they all know what's happening. And they all liked that better than participating in my reading, which was a great idea, and I'm sticking to that theory."

"Obviously there's still a lot about her that you don't know."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Try talking to her tomorrow when you go over there. You never know what might happen," Luke pointed out.

The next day, Lorelai went to her parents' house, expecting to find the situation far less dire situation than her father had described. Emily Gilmore was not one to stay down. Ever.

But the maid answered the door and the house was terrifyingly quiet. Lorelai found her father in his study. "Hey, Dad."

"Lorelai, I'm glad you're here. I've been trying to get the DAR vice president Tweeny Halpern on the phone all morning and she won't talk to me. She keeps saying that she will wait until Emily is available. Maybe she'd talk to you," Richard told her, a hint of panic in his voice.

"Sure. I'll call her in just a minute. How's Mom?"

He sighed. "The same."

"She's really just lying in bed? That doesn't seem like her."

Richard shook his head. "She's given up."

"But she never gives up."

"I never thought I'd see her like this again."

"What do you mean, 'again?' I've _never_ seen her like this," Lorelai countered.

"Well you wouldn't have. I just hope this time doesn't last a whole month like last time."

"What 'last time?!'" Lorelai was getting frustrated by the cryptic answers.

"When you left and took Rory. She cried for a week and was in bed for a month. Just like this. No matter what I did, she just stayed in bed and cried. She wouldn't do anything or see anyone," he informed her.

Lorelai was dumbfounded. In the back of her mind, she remembered her father telling her once that Emily had been in bed for a month after she left, but she never really believed it. Not really, anyway. Because that wasn't something Emily Gilmore would do.

"Believe it or not," Richard replied, throwing up his hands. At this point, he couldn't afford to waste time trying to convince Lorelai. "Go up and see her. She won't protest. She won't do anything."

So Lorelai did just that. She went upstairs to her parents' bedroom. She always felt a slight sense of dread when she went up there. But this was different. It was honestly a little creepy to walk in there in the middle of the day to find it dark and stale and quiet.

"Mom?"

Lorelai was greeted with only a rustle beneath the sheets and a muffled groan. Unsure of what else to do. She crossed to the other side of the bed and climbed up to sit. She watched her mother for a moment, hair a mess, eyes shut tight in defiance of the daylight. Lorelai didn't know what to do. But she was suddenly filled with tremendous sorrow and regret. She shifted herself down to lie on her side, facing her mother. With a tentative hand, she reached out to push a lock of hair away from Emily's face.

Emily's eyes blinked open. She looked right at her daughter and gave the smallest of smiles. "I hate this dream," she murmured quietly.

"What dream, Mom?" Lorelai asked softly.

"I don't like being tricked into thinking my little girl is here with me. I always wake up feeling sad."

Lorelai had never considered how her actions affected her mother, not really. She knew how she'd affected Emily's life and reputation, sure. But this was different. Emily's actual feelings as a mother never really came into consideration. Lorelai knew how she'd felt when Rory left Yale and left her. That was only a fraction of what Emily must have felt all those years ago. And she was obviously still holding onto so much of that hurt.

"I'm here, Mom." Lorelai scooted closer to her mother and snuggled into Emily's open embrace. Never in her memory had Lorelai done anything like this. Emily hadn't been the most affectionate parent. But this felt warm and safe and loved. Loved like nothing Lorelai had ever experienced with her mother. She whispered again, "I'm here, Mom."


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

"I don't think she really ever registered that I was actually there. I don't think she thought it was real. I was fully awake and _I'm_ not even sure it was real. I don't think I have ever, in my entire life, laid in my parents' bed in my mother's arms. I mean, that's why I was so affectionate with Rory. I _never_ wanted her to grow up like I did. All those stuffy rules, everyone at arm's length, more concerned with manners than feelings," Lorelai told Luke, pacing around the room, ranting about her afternoon with her mother.

Luke just sat on the bed and watched her. "Maybe that's a sign she's feeling better," he suggested.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, if anything it means she's getting worse. She let it slip that she loves me. That's not Emily. Not Emily Gilmore, President of the Connecticut DAR."

He frowned. "Is she really that bad?"

"Yeah, she is. I thought my father was exaggerating. But it's been almost a week since she got home. And apparently she's been like that the whole time."

"A week isn't too long. Maybe she'll snap out of it. She might just be in pain still from the fall and the surgery."

"I don't think so," she countered. "She's given up, Luke. My mother has completely given up on everything. In her mind, there is absolutely nothing worth getting out of bed for. And if nothing Dad or I has done so far has changed her mind, I don't know what will."

An idea sprang into Luke's mind. "Well, you're planning her DAR thing at The Dragonfly and covering all her appointments the best you can. There's nothing more you can do today. There's a town meeting tonight. You wanna go?" he asked, hoping to distract her.

"Yeah, I guess. I think Patty is going to ask Taylor to let her host a fire-eating class in the town square."

"So we'll all get to learn about what parts of Stars Hollow are flammable. Great," Luke replied sarcastically as they went downstairs.

"Hey man, knowledge is power," Lorelai quipped.

Luke successfully kept Lorelai from obsessing about her mother for the rest of the night. His mind, however, was busy concocting his own plan.

The next morning, he plied her with coffee and pancakes at the diner while subtly grilling her on her plans for the day. "So you'll be at the inn?"

"Yeah. Tweeny Halpern is coming over to do the tasting with me. I told her that Mom's recovery has messed with her taste buds, so that's why she can't do it herself. I think Tweeny bought it. She didn't seem suspicious. I remember Rory liking this woman, but maybe she's just dumb."

"I'm sure that's not it. Not if Rory and your mom got along with her. Emily doesn't really put up with stupidity."

"That's definitely true," Lorelai agreed, thinking back to the number of times she'd heard her mother rant and rave over the incompetency of some of the women she'd had to work with over the years.

"So you'll be at the inn all day?"

Lorelai frowned, mildly suspicious at being asked the same question twice in a row. "Yeah, I'll be there all day. Why?"

"No, just in case I need to get ahold of you for something. You know," he replied awkwardly, trying to cover his tracks.

"Okay…Well, I'm gonna go now. If that's okay with you…"

"Oh sure, fine."

And as soon as Lorelai turned the corner past the diner on her way to The Dragonfly, Luke was off. He told Caesar to take care of things, and he got in his truck and drove to Hartford. The driveway at the Gilmore mansion was empty, but he knew better than to park there. He pulled over off to the side of their street, a few doors down from the house. As he waited at the front door, Luke was suddenly aware that he hadn't shaved that morning and he probably should have. Something about being at the Gilmore house made him extremely concerned about any possible flaw he might have.

The door opened and a tall older woman stood and stared at Luke standing before her. "Yes?"

"Uh, hi, I'm Luke Danes, I'm a friend of Lorelai's. Lorelai Gilmore. Richard and Emily's daughter," he explained to the maid.

"Mr. Gilmore is at work and Mrs. Gilmore is not able to see visitors."

"Yeah, I know. I need to go see her. I saw her in the hospital. I know what's going on. It's really important I see her," he said.

The maid looked very suspicious. "I can't let you in without Mr. Gilmore's permission."

"I bet you could call Mr. Gilmore and he'll tell you to let me in."

She looked him up and down again. "Wait here, please." She closed the door, leaving Luke standing on the porch. It was only about two minutes before the door opened once again. "Mr. Gilmore is very glad you're here, Mr. Danes. You can go up to see Mrs. Gilmore, and Mr. Gilmore will speak with you when he arrives home. He's on his way now." She let him in and led him upstairs.

Luke paused to collect himself in front of the closed door. He didn't know if this would work. But he had to try. He knocked to announce his presence and then entered. "Hi, Emily," he said softly.

Emily was surprised by the unexpected voice. She sat up. "Luke?"

He waved awkwardly. "Yeah. Hi."

"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly.

"I had to come see you. I need your help."

She raised her brow. "Oh?"

"I don't know if Richard told you that he and I talked a few nights ago. The last night he was staying at my place, actually."

"No, he didn't."

"Okay, well we did. And uh, he gave me his blessing to ask Lorelai to marry me."

Her lips curled into a small smile. "Oh so you asked this time. That's good."

That slight criticism wasn't lost on Luke. But he took it as a sign that Emily was responding to him like her old self. "Yeah, I wanted to do it right this time. Lorelai isn't a traditional kind of girl, but I know she kinda likes that kind of stuff. Especially now that she's trying to be better with you and Richard. I know she's just killing herself with all your DAR stuff right now and reading to the foster kids and whatever."

"She's what?!"

"She didn't tell you when she was here yesterday?"

Emily's heart sank. "Lorelai was here yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. I…I must have been asleep."

Luke nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I know."

Emily didn't like the way he was looking at her. Like he knew more than he should. "I'm very tired, Luke. I'd like to go back to sleep, if you don't mind."

"Emily, I really need your help," Luke blurted.

"What could you possibly need my help with?" she scoffed.

"Big gestures and stuff, that's not really my thing. I want to do something really special but I don't know what."

"Something special?"

"When I propose to her. I was hoping that…you…could help me plan something that she'd really love, that she'll remember forever."

Emily was somewhat stunned. "You're asking my help planning your proposal to Lorelai?"

"Yeah."


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

"Luke, go downstairs and tell Maria to fix some lunch for two."

"Uh, three. She said Richard is on his way over."

Emily nodded curtly, her tone stronger with every word. "Fine. Have her fix lunch for three. Feel free to have a drink in the living room while you wait for Richard to come home."

"Okay, what are you gonna do?"

She sat up in bed, straightening her posture proudly. "I am going to get dressed," Emily informed him.

Luke gave a wide smile. "Alright, sounds good. I'll see you downstairs for lunch." He left the bedroom and went down to find the maid, giving her Emily's instructions.

Richard had just arrived home when Luke was speaking to Maria. "Ah, Luke, here you are. Is there anything I can help with? I can't imagine Emily could do much," Richard noted with a sad sense of realism.

Luke shook his head with a grin. "She asked me to make sure lunch is served. She's going to get dressed and meet us down in the dining room to eat."

Richard's jaw dropped. "She…really?!"

"That's what she said."

Without another word, Richard bounded up the stairs and into the bedroom. Emily was sitting at her vanity, putting her hair into rollers.

"Emily?" His voice was tentative, afraid to say or do anything that would startle her back to her bed.

She made eye contact with him in the mirror with a small smile. "Yes, Richard?" she replied coyly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm fixing my hair. What does it look like I'm doing?"

His whole face broke into a bright smile. "Anything I can do, dear?"

"No, Richard, I'm fine. You go back downstairs. Though you and I need to have a conversation tonight at dinner. You should go back to work after lunch. Luke and I have some things to discuss, and I want to speak with you alone later."

He nodded. "As you wish." Richard crossed over to where Emily was sitting and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You look like yourself again," he whispered.

She reached her arm around gently caress the back of his neck. "I feel like myself again," she agreed.

He didn't go downstairs to wait with Luke. Instead, he watched her as she did her hair and makeup just as deftly as she always had. It was like watching magic. He didn't speak or draw attention to himself, but she would smile at him in the mirror every so often. When she was all dressed and looking just so, he took her arm and led her down the stairs. She still moved very slowly and hesitantly, but all those stretches she'd been doing over the last few days had obviously helped.

Luke watched Richard and Emily descend the stairs together. Everything was the way it should be. Well, almost.

After lunch, Richard went back to work in a better mood than he'd been in for weeks. Emily and Luke went over various ideas which Emily was able to turn into a beautifully concocted plan. It would take a few days to implement everything, but it would be spectacular. And Lorelai was sure to love it.

"Now, what about the ring?"

"I haven't bought one yet. I sold the one I got her last time."

"And you couldn't use that again anyway. This is a turning point."

Luke nodded in agreement. "So…I go to a jewelry store?"

Emily considered for a moment, narrowing her eyes at him. "Luke, can I trust you? _Really_ trust you?"

"Of course."

"Please go upstairs to my bedroom and in the drawer of Richard's bedside table is a small set of keys. Bring them to me, please."

Luke did what he was told and was back in less than three minutes. Emily asked for his help walking down to the basement. The staircase was narrow, but they managed just fine. A very large part of her brain was screaming at her for showing this weakness, asking for assistance with the most basic of tasks. But this was for Lorelai. This was more important than anything.

In the basement, Emily made her way to the wall safe. "I hope it goes without saying that you won't ever tell anyone else where our safe is," she stated. Luke just shook his head.

It took her a moment to remember which key opened the lock. Inside the safe were several small boxes amidst stacks of papers. She found the one she was looking for. Emily held the little black velvet box with reverence, feeling her heart flutter. She hadn't held it in a very long time.

"Luke, tell me if you like this." Emily opened the box and showed him the diamond ring inside. As he stared, she informed him of its credentials. "It's a two-carat diamond with handcrafted filigree in those interwoven diamond strands beneath the center diamond. It was made sometime in the 1920s. It was vintage when my father bought it for my mother. All her other jewelry went to my sister in France. This is the only thing of hers I have."

"Wow."

"Is that all you can say? Wow?" she scolded.

"It's a beautiful ring."

"Do you think Lorelai would like it? Because if she would, you're free to give it to her with my blessing. I certainly don't want it. But I don't want either of you to feel obligated," Emily added, remembering her pact with Lorelai in the hospital that last day. They were going to try harder.

"It really does look like her. I think she'd love it."

"Then please take it."

"Wow. Wow, thanks." Luke put the box into his pocket, feeling the weight of its importance, not only because it would be Lorelai's engagement ring, but because it was an heirloom entrusted to him by Emily.

"Alright, now that we have that taken care of, you can help me upstairs and you can get to work on the preparations. I have to make some phone calls."

Later that day, Richard came home to find Emily sitting at the writing desk, scribbling furiously in her day planner. "This is a familiar scene," he noted happily.

She paused with a smile and turned slowly to face him. "Welcome home, Richard. How was your day?"

"Never mind me, how are you?"

"Slow and stiff and still quite useless, but there are more important things to worry about now," she answered matter-of-factly.

"I couldn't agree more. What can I do to help?" he offered.

"You can pour us a few drinks and sit in the living room with me and tell me what the hell has been going on the last few days!"

He chuckled. "Of course, Emily. Vodka?"

"Before dinner, yes, please." Emily made her way to the living room, all by herself, and sat down. They each took a sip of their drink before Emily started in again. "Richard, what have you been doing? Nothing in my day planner is the way I've left it. There are pages missing and I can't seem to figure out what I've let slip in the past few weeks."

"Everything will be restored to you soon, Emily. And I believe you'll find that nothing has slipped. Contracts have been signed and delivered, plans have been approved, arrangements are being made, and appointments have been kept."

She frowned. "How?"

"Between the two of us, Lorelai and I have been able to keep quite organized. Mitzy Lightfoot can't complain about a single thing. Tweeny Halpern thinks you're resting up and giving Lorelai very exacting instructions, which she is following to the letter. I've returned calls and made your opinion known to whoever needed it."

Emily was dumbfounded. "I find myself asking again, how?"

Richard smiled. "Lorelai, you'll find, is wonderful at this sort of thing. She did, after all, learn from the best. And she didn't want to let you down."

"She didn't?" Emily's voice was small, unsure, and containing the slightest hint of hope.

"No. She didn't," Richard assured her.

Rather than dwell on any feelings about that, Emily moved on. "But what about you, Richard? You have your class to teach and you have papers to grade, _and_ you have a business to worry about. And you don't care about any of my stupid obligations."

He shook his head. "They are not stupid. I didn't fully comprehend before. But I do now. I see the good you do. Just because you don't do it in a way I might have expected doesn't diminish its value."

Emily felt like she was going to cry. She felt…validated. For the first time in their long marriage, Emily felt not that she was being tolerated or patronized, but legitimated and fully recognized on her pure merit. She swallowed hard. "Thank you, Richard," she said quietly.

Richard just nodded, taking another sip of his drink.

Maria entered the room and announced that dinner was ready. Richard walked her to the table, helping with her chair. And all at once, their lives returned to normal. At least they were normal on the surface. But Emily was grateful to her husband in a way she never had been before. And Richard truly understood and appreciated his wife for perhaps the first time. None of those feelings were to change.

Over the next few days, Emily received professional physical therapy in between phone calls and meetings with Lorelai regarding the DAR induction luncheon. The date was fast approaching and they all wanted it to be perfect. Her strength and physical ability were regained slowly. She was making progress on everything, but it was not enough. Lorelai still taught the dance classes to the debutantes. Miss Patty continued to help, but Richard no longer attended.

And at last, the night arrived. Unbeknownst to Lorelai, whenever Emily wasn't planning things with her, she was working on things with Luke for the big grand-gesture proposal he wanted. If Emily said so herself, it was sure to be the most perfect things she ever planned.

Lorelai received a note on her front porch telling her to follow the daisies. She looked up to find a line of notecards, each with a cartoon of a white daisy on it. They formed a path. With an intrigued and excited smile, Lorelai followed the daisies as the sun set over Stars Hollow.

The last one was taped to the front door of Luke's Diner. Inside, it was dark. But there was one table set up with a television set, emitting soft static light. Lorelai went inside, thoroughly confused.

The television clicked on. Caesar was on the screen. He stood in his apron behind the counter. "Hey, Lorelai, if you take a seat, your burger will be ready in a minute. Lobster is better, but we didn't have any in right now. But next time, we'll be fully stocked."

She sat down. The mention of lobster reminded her of the strange weekend she and Luke had spent at Martha's Vineyard with Rory and Logan. He really had loved that lobster.

The television flashed, changing to a scene from Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart held Ingrid Bergman in his arms. While she watched, Caesar put a burger in front of her. He didn't way a word, and he disappeared into the back room. Lorelai kept focused on the movie, smiling at the memory of making Luke watch this with her upon finding out he'd never seen it.

Another flash. Buddy and Maisy stood in Sniffy's Tavern. "Hope you're well," Buddy said with a wave.

"It's time to go all in, honey," Maisy added.

Lorelai was transported to her first official date with Luke when he'd told her that their relationship was real for him. That he was all in. She had believed him, but she hadn't been ready. She didn't even know that she hadn't been ready. Maybe Luke did know. But he told her anyway.

Another flash. Tom, the carpenter, was standing outside the diner with a paint can. "Hey listen, stop tryin' to fix windows with Barbie bandaids. People get hurt that way."

Lorelai started to laugh, remembering that strange make-shift repair she'd done and how Luke had cut his hand trying to fix it.

Tom continued onscreen. "By the way, we already know to avoid the list on the side of the counter when we repaint."

Her eye drifted over to that end of the counter where Luke's father had written an order down all those years ago. That was the first moment she'd really felt like something might be possible with Luke. They were crouching there, hiding from the town, and there was a moment. A very real moment.

In the diner, Luke came out from the kitchen carrying two mugs and a pot of coffee. "I couldn't find Zima, and I don't like champagne, but how about some coffee?"

Lorelai's eyes went wide. Her heart was pounding wildly. "Okay. I never say no to coffee. But you don't like coffee."

"Just because I don't suck it down like you do doesn't mean I don't like coffee. Coffee's fine. I make good coffee," he retorted.

She nodded. "The best," she agreed. She took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "Luke, what's happening?"

He jerked his head to the screen. "Just watch the TV."

The music began to play. First just a guitar, then the voice singing Reflecting Light. Lorelai would know that song anywhere. It was the song she and Luke had danced to at Liz's wedding. And on the screen, pictures began to appear in a slideshow. First was Babette and Miss Patty, holding a sign. Next came Sookie and Jackson, then Liz and TJ, followed by April, and Paul Anka, the dog. The pictures spread out so the signs could be read together: Will you just stand still?

Those were the words Luke had said when he'd kissed her for the first time. Upon that realization, Lorelai turned to Luke. He had gotten down on one knee. She gasped and felt tears spring to her eyes.

"I wanted to do it right this time. I wanted this to be special and proper and right. Lorelai Gilmore, you drive me nuts, and I love you, and I want us to drive each other nuts for the rest of our lives. You and me. For real this time. Everything is good with Rory and with April and with your parents, and what more perfect time could there be? So, Lorelai, will you marry me?" He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it.

Lorelai stared at him. She saw the sincerity in his eyes. And the confidence. There was no fear now. Luke had always been so strong. So much stronger than her. He'd been strong for her, and he'd let her be strong for him.

"Lorelai?"

She suddenly realized she'd been stunned into silence for possibly the first time in her life. "It's all so perfect!" she exclaimed, feeling herself begin to cry. "The burger and the coffee and the ring and the movie! My god, the movie! How did you do that?"

Luke interrupted her, shoving the ring forward. "Lorelai!"

"Oh! Yes! Yes, of course yes!" she answered with a laugh. She held out her left hand for him to put the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him deeply.

"She said yes!"

They broke apart to see Caesar come out from the back, waving his arms triumphantly. And all of a sudden, the town square was lit up with votive candles, held by everyone they knew.

"Come on outside," Luke told her.

They exited the diner to see the shining, flickering lights. Everyone was in two lines from the diner to the gazebo. Gypsy was there, and Miss Patty and Taylor. Babette and Morey, Andrew, and Sophie. Lane and Zack were there, too, and even Mrs. Kim. And as they walked down the path created by the townspeople, they saw their family. Sookie and Jackson and Michel and Liz and TJ and, to Lorelai's shock and delight, Richard and Emily. They were all holding candles to light the way to the gazebo. And right in front was the huppah Luke had built for Lorelai all those years ago, wrapped with perfectly white summer daisies, with Rory standing underneath. Lorelai screamed and ran into her daughter's arms.

"You're here! I can't believe you're here!"

"Of course I'm here! Luke called last week and we coordinated. The campaign is in Boston right now, so I got to be here for the very last proposal you're ever going to get!"

Lorelai was positively beaming. "Yep. Best for last." She turned to Luke. "I can't believe this! How did you do this?"

"I had a lot of help," he replied, nodding over to Emily.

Lorelai was overcome with emotion. "Thank you, Mom."

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. "Congratulations, Lorelai. And I'm glad the ring fits correctly."

"Did you pick this out, too?"

"It was her mother's," Luke explained.

Lorelai looked down at the beautiful ring and felt an overwhelming sense of pride. "Thank you," she said again, very sincerely. And before she could stop herself, she gave her mother a hug, which Emily very happily returned.


	25. Chapter 25

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

"Lorelai, are the tables all arranged correctly?"

Across the dining room of The Dragonfly, Lorelai paused her task of straightening candles. "Yes, Mom. They're all arranged correctly. Exactly like you diagrammed for me a month ago. And the tapers are all exactly six inches apart on the tables, and the flower arrangements are in the walk-in so they don't wilt while we finish setting up."

"And Sookie has the last-minute menu change? I cannot believe Dorothy Schrick waited until the last minute to inform us of this stupid made-up wheat allergy," Emily grumbled.

Lorelai smiled. "Everything is ready, Mom."

Emily stood in the middle of the dining room and regarded everything under her exacting gaze. She sighed, "I suppose. You've worked so hard on this. I just don't want anything to go wrong."

"It won't!" Lorelai assured her. She came to stand by her mother and noticed that she shifted her weight in a nervous fashion. Lorelai said in a low tone, "Your posture is perfect and no one is going to ever guess that you couldn't walk six weeks ago."

"Oh I just hate this! Your father keeps telling me how wonderfully I'm doing, but every time he does, it's just a reminder that I'm not where I should be!" she complained.

"What can't you do yet? I know the doctor said nothing too strenuous for another six months after surgery, but it's not like you're playing basketball or swimming in the Olympics. So what of your usual activities can't you do?"

Emily's face fell. "That's just it. I don't think there's anything I _can't_ do, I just keep worrying that anything I do is going to ruin all my progress." She straightened up again. "And I hate everyone else treating me like I'm fragile, checking on me all the time."

Lorelai held her hands up defensively. "Okay, sorry!"

"I do appreciate the concern," Emily added with a small smile. "But I would like it better if you'd just stop."

"Fine. No special treatment for you. Go jog up and down the stairs in your heels," Lorelai teased.

Emily just rolled her eyes and walked away into the kitchen to check in with Sookie.

An hour later, the guests were all arriving for the luncheon. Michel greeted everyone very politely; he was ecstatic to be interacting with all the wealthy women he so admired. Sookie was in the kitchen, sending out flawless, perfectly-timed courses. Lorelai stayed in the background, watching from the doorway to the library. Emily seemed to float around the room, smiling graciously and engaging in the most elegant small talk imaginable. In spite of herself, Lorelai was proud of the work they'd done together. And seeing Emily so happy and in control made her smile. Lorelai had been a part of that. She'd contributed and made her mother happy. And she hadn't hated doing it.

It was miraculous, the changes that had occurred in the past two months. Lorelai had, with the help of Luke and Rory and Richard, let go of all the hurt and resentment of her childhood. And in doing that, she saw Emily with new eyes. Her mother was a woman of tremendous strength and grace and intelligence, who could do anything she set her mind to. And Emily, to her eternal credit, had loosened her hold over Lorelai; she no longer sought to make Lorelai into what she was supposed to be. Because Lorelai was exactly who she was supposed to be, where she was supposed to be, and doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Emily saw that and was learning to accept and respect it more than ever before. And somehow, they'd grown to actually enjoy each other's company. Planning this luncheon, teaching the debutantes, covering the rest of Emily's obligations as she recovered—it all gave them a common goal to work at together. The only other time this had happened before, as far as Lorelai remembered, was when Richard was recovering from his heart surgery and Lorelai had showed her mother how to work Quicken on the computer. But that had been one slightly-drunk evening. All this planning had been over weeks. And neither of them had needed to escape the other. It was all working out so splendidly.

"Ladies, I want to thank you all for coming all this way to historic Stars Hollow. The food and ambiance of The Dragonfly Inn is unsurpassed. Before we get started, I wanted to thank the staff at The Dragonfly, especially my daughter, Lorelai, for all the tireless work they've put into this event." Emily applauded towards where Lorelai was standing and the whole group joined in. Emily continued, "And now, I want to invite the new inductees to stand." Four women around Lorelai's age stood in front of Emily as she made her speech about the honor of the DAR, the history and charity of the organization, and congratulating them on their induction.

A few hours later, when the last DAR lady had thanked Emily and left the inn, Lorelai found her mother in the lobby. "Seems like it was a success!"

Emily smiled proudly. "It really was. Everything was absolutely perfect. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for everything you've done."

"It way my pleasure, Mom," she replied sincerely.

Emily lowered her voice. "Did you see Mitzy Lightfoot? I thought she was going to explode from jealousy."

Lorelai laughed. "Her face got so red when she saw the room! And she was practically shaking while you were talking. I think she thought you were on death's door or something. I actually heard one of the other ladies ask her what she had meant when you weren't doing well. I don't think Mitzy Lightfoot is going to be a threat to your reign anytime soon."

"I quite agree," Emily said with a proud grin. She sighed happily. "I'm so glad that's all over. I don't want to plan another one of these for quite some time. But I must say I do love your inn, Lorelai. You've done such an incredible job here."

"Thanks, Mom. You're welcome here any time. I know Michel loves it when you're around. Sookie has the best time feeding you the most incredible food she can imagine for you. And…I kinda like you here, too," Lorelai admitted.

Emily pressed her lips together to keep from grinning. She was touched by Lorelai's words, but this wasn't the time to get more emotional.

"Oh, and Mom? We can talk about this later and stuff but I was wondering what a person does to get into the DAR."

Emily's eyes snapped into focus. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"I've been doing a lot of work with those ladies and most of them are very nice and now I know about all the great stuff the organization does and I was thinking that if it isn't too much trouble that I could maybe join. I mean, not that you won't be able to do everything yourself ever again, but in case you need help, I can sorta help in a more official capacity or whatever," Lorelai rambled.

"I can have the paperwork ready for you next week. You're my daughter, so you're eligible to join. Actually, you have patriot ancestors on both sides. The paperwork is just a formality. We did the same with Rory when she was staying in the pool house," Emily said, trying to come off casual so as to not scare Lorelai off from the idea.

"So you wouldn't mind? Not that I'd ever be the most active member. I don't want to do stuff all the time. But I could join?"

"If you want to join, I'd be very happy to have you. But I suppose I'm a little surprised, as you've never shown any interest before."

Lorelai shrugged. "Things are different now."

Emily smiled softly. "Yes, I suppose they are." She blinked and cleared her throat. "Well, I have to go now. The dance is only a few hours away, and I have to get dressed and have Paulo do my hair."

"Luke and I will see you guys there," Lorelai replied with a nod.

Later that night, Richard was wandering around the house, calling for his wife. "Emily! Emily, where are you?" he shouted.

She appeared at the door of his study, of all places. "Richard, stop shouting!" she scolded. "What could you possibly need that requires you to shout at me like that?"

He stood in front of her and huffed, "This tie is extremely uncooperative."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You could have waited two minutes for me to come back upstairs. Come here." She reached up and tied the black silk bowtie with the deft skill of so many years of practice. "There. All done. But now I need to go back up anyway. I haven't decided what necklace to wear yet."

"Ah, perhaps this might help in your choice." Richard reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. He held it open for her, showing off the choker necklace, dripping in a cascade of diamonds.

"Oh, Richard, it's beautiful!" she gushed.

He grinned. "Turn around so I can put it on for you," he instructed.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as he clasped it around her neck.

"The occasion is that I love my wife very much and it's been a rather difficult few months for us, and I am very proud of you." He kissed her cheek. "And later, I'm going to kiss you properly. But I know better than to mess up your makeup right before we go out."

She chuckled. "I appreciate that. And if I had time to redo my makeup, I would let you mess it up right now. But it's time for us to go. I want to check over the girls before the ceremony."

"I don't know what the debutantes of Hartford would do without you. But if those young ladies can gain even an ounce of your incredible elegance, they will be very lucky indeed."

Emily positively beamed. She had thousands of dollars of diamonds around her neck and her loving husband on her arm. Even if she was worried about Lorelai's instruction of the girls, this was sure to be a lovely evening.

Luke entered the ballroom with a slight look of terror on his face. He fidgeted nervously in his tuxedo. "Aw jeez," he mumbled.

Lorelai elbowed him subtly. "Hey, I did not make you go to this. You offered. I'm just here to see all those sweet, terrifying girls do all those dances I taught them and to support my mom. There was no reason for you to be here."

"But wouldn't it have looked weird if you came unescorted to something like this?"

She wiggled the fingers on her left hand. "Hey buddy, I got the fancy ring. And my parents like me now. I am good to go."

"Speaking of which, where are your parents? I kinda bonded with your dad and he's the only other person I know here."

"Yeah, let's find him. You two can drink and gab all you want. Save each other from the other annoying people at this stupid thing," Lorelai agreed.

Richard, towering over everyone, saw Luke and Lorelai enter. He smiled, seeing his daughter in a lovely pink dress and his future son-in-law in a rather sharp tuxedo. Luke was probably hating every moment of this. He excused himself from the inane conversation with the Sudburys to greet them.

"Hi, Dad!" Lorelai said brightly. She gave the now-customary hug to her father when he came over.

"Hello, Lorelai. You're looking very pretty. And you, Luke, are looking rather smart."

"At least I look smart. I definitely don't feel it," Luke replied.

Richard laughed. "Why don't you and I find the bar? Lorelai, your mother is in the dressing room with the girls. I'm sure you can join her. The ceremony will be in about twenty minutes, so you'd better hurry. After that, they'll serve dinner and open the dancefloor. Which, of course, is why we're all here."

Lorelai navigated the room of people wearing clothing costing more than her monthly profits and found her mother giving the girls a little speech.

"Remember to stand up straight, with your chin parallel to the floor. If you feel nervous, just smile. That hides almost anything. You all look beautiful, and your families are all very proud of you," Emily told them all very kindly.

"And have fun," Lorelai added. "You guys all worked really hard, and we're really proud, too."

Emily turned and smiled at her daughter. "Precisely," she agreed with a nod. She let Lorelai converse with the girls for a bit, happy that they all got along so well. And as far as Emily could tell, Lorelai hadn't ruined them at all. None of them were listening to heavy metal music or wearing sneakers under their ballgowns. It was actually a little amazing how nicely this had turned out. Another lovely thing Lorelai had done, and done very well.

The stage managers announced the five-minute warning, forcing Lorelai and Emily to wish the girls a last 'good luck' and going out to join Luke and Richard. The four of them all sat together at a table to watch the debutante ceremony. Emily commented on how poised each of them was, how happy they all looked. Lorelai noticed that even sour-faced Tiffany seemed pleased. And whiney Caroline oozed self-confidence. Lorelai liked to think she had some hand in that.

Dinner was just as elegant as everything else. A little fancy for Luke's taste, but it was fine all the same. Richard whispered jokes to him all through the meal, helping him feel more at-ease. By the end of dessert, he was actually having a good time. It also didn't hurt that Emily was genuinely kind to him, and Lorelai was enjoying herself at a fancy function, rather than mocking it.

The band struck up an old Sinatra song that Luke couldn't quite place, and all the debutantes and their escorts took to the floor. They all danced the most perfect foxtrot anyone had ever seen. Lorelai beamed with pride. Soon, other couples began to dance as well.

Luke turned to his fiancée. "You wanna dance?"

She was taken aback. "You _want_ to dance?"

"With you, yeah. I've been practicing." He glanced at Emily with a small smile, which she returned.

Lorelai took his hand and walked to the dancefloor. They began to dance with more ability than Lorelai had ever experienced with Luke before. "Wow, you have been practicing!"

"Your mom gave me some tips," he confessed. "After the proposal thing we worked on together, she wanted to know if there was anything else she could help me with. And since you like to dance and I'm not really that good at it, I thought I'd ask for a couple lessons."

"That's so great!" She laughed happily as he twirled her around the floor.

From the table, Emily looked on with pride. "They really do look good together. I never noticed with those horrible flannel shirts he wears or that stupid baseball cap. But they really do look nice."

"And she's so happy," Richard noted.

"Yes, she is," Emily agreed. She turned her attention to her husband, frowning now. "Richard, aren't you going to ask me to dance?"

He looked confused. "I didn't want you to do anything too strenuous. In case something happens. We're in public, after all."

"I appreciate the concern, Richard, but I am fine. I've been teaching Luke to dance for the last two weeks. I'm perfectly capable of a waltz," she insisted.

"Well, alright then." He stood up and held out his hand to her. "Emily, would you do me the honor of this dance?"

And so the Gilmores danced. They danced as skillfully as they had been dancing for over forty years. They danced as though they were the only two people in the room. They danced like two people deeply in love.

Luke and Lorelai watched Richard and Emily from the other side of the floor. "I want us to be like that in forty years," Lorelai mused.

"We will be," Luke promised. He chuckled a little to himself. "You know, before your mom's surgery and everything, I never really noticed how much they love each other. Like _really_ love each other."

"Yeah. It's kind of amazing. I've always noticed it in the little things. They're not always very demonstrative, even to each other." She looked at Luke. "But love is in the little things. Sometimes it's an ice rink or a huppah, and sometimes it's an extra cup of coffee."

"Or buying a perfectly fitted tuxedo or waking up at four in the morning to help unload deliveries," he agreed.

The band finished their song and started on a slower tune. Richard pulled Emily a little closer, swaying with her in perfect rhythm. "I've missed this," he murmured. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you're all healed.

"I'm all better. Everything is better," Emily replied, resting her cheek on his shoulder as the music swelled around them.

 **The End**


End file.
